


Live a Little

by Voice_of_Mischief



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: G!Sans is basically a casanova, Gaster!Sans - Freeform, Multi, and he tried to teach reader to live a little, and stop being so nervous and anxious, no real plot right now tbh, reader is a socially awkward dork, sorry I suck lol, to be blunt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-10-12
Packaged: 2018-05-31 03:46:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 32,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6454108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Voice_of_Mischief/pseuds/Voice_of_Mischief
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're a dork. To be blunt. Okay, a dork with a dog. You're kind of afraid of new things. Could anyone blame you? It never served well in the past, and your anxiety constantly warns you away from such business.</p><p>And then some skeleton struts into your life with a simple goal in mind. To make you,</p><p>"live a little."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello, stranger; please don't flirt with me.

"I'm sorry, you can't come. I'm sorry! I've gotta go! You won't want to, it's raining outside!" 

Piper, head stuck between the door and the frame as you tried to gently persuade her to step back a little, blinked at you through those unreadable eyes, first the blue, then the brown. You sighed, chuckling under your breath, eventually working her muzzle out of the way and closing the door before she could protest again. With one last deep breath, you walked down the hall to the elevator, ready for your usual evening walk.

Normally, Piper always went with you; she needed the exercise, and people thought twice about harassing someone with a large dog, let alone a large dog that looked to be a german shepherd in the dark. She was a nice companion, and she made you feel safe. 

However, she didn't like to get wet. Her fur stayed damp for hours afterward. 

Who cared if it was raining a little outside? Maybe her, but not you. It was your routine to walk, and rain couldn't stop that. It wasn't too bad. Not a huge downpour, at the very least. Besides, you had a hood.

You started down the streets, illuminated by the grey-peach light of the Suns dying rays muddled by clouds. It was one of the rarer cool summer days, feeling more like spring than summer. It was on days like this that you were glad to live so close to the beach. 

Yes, you lived in New Ebott, the tiny coastal 'city' that just so happened to be the main hub for the newly-ish(?) surfaced monsters. Did a year ago count as newly? Oh, yeah, monsters were a thing. You hardly need remind yourself as you passed one, standing outside what seemed to be a fast food restaurant, smoking a cigarette. He looked liked a college student, right down to the rumpled clothes and bags under his eyes. He didn't look up as you passed, though his cat-like ears twitched. 

You didn't have a problem with monsters. Well, you kind of did? Not like the handful of radicals sprinkled scarcely around, of course! It was the same problem you had with humans, in fact. And that was that you had to socialize to begin with.

You had a very extreme case of shyness. Or maybe social anxiety. Take your pick. You just kind of... sucked at socializing. It was hard to make friends, since it was hard to let anyone in, and then it was hard to keep them, because they, of course, thought you would come looking for them if you needed them.

Which you didn't do. You didn't want to be a burden. So, eventually, you would inevitably drift apart and you would be left alone.

That's why you got Piper. She depended on you, even if she acted more like a cat that a dog. Besides, dogs were easier to understand than humans. Or monsters.

So you walked along the sidewalk in the direction of the public strip of beach. It wasn't normally very busy at this time of year, especially with the rain. Normally, there were just a few regulars, people like you who came to the beach every night, whether it be for the calm or the fresh ocean air. It was nice, even if you didn't actually... know any of them. You felt like you kind of did, in a way. The ocean was a great bonding mechanism, you supposed.

You were a bit over halfway there when the rain decided you needed a shower. Like, a buckets of cold water dumped all over your favorite hoodie shower. Nice. Thanks, just what you always wanted.

Obvious sarcasm.

You ducked into your hood, looking for somewhere to wait it out. Should you just get home, and risk getting sick from being in the rain that long? Or should you risk the embarrassment of having to hide out somewhere? 

Ech. You really didn't want to get sick.

You were scanning the street, worried you'd find nowhere to hide out, when the warm flicker of an open diner's lit windows caught your eye. It looked oddly welcoming, compared with your other options. Should you, though? There were people in there, but... It was somewhere dry.

You paused after pushing the door open. Okay, warm and dry! That's a bonus. It felt really cozy, despite being utterly bustling with monsters. Your heart fluttered in your chest nervously, but there was a free space at the bar, with a little bit of space between the monsters sitting there. 

But would you be... intruding? Was this, like, monster domain? 

No, there were a handful of humans scattered around. One was even playing poker with a rather... tall(? Was his neck incredibly long?) dog monster in casual attire. 

Wait, there were dog monsters??

Well, here goes nothing. 

You ducked your head as you hurried to the bar, sliding into the seat without making eye contact with anyone. The monster behind the bar- was literally made of fire?! Focus!! He asked you a question.

"Um, no, thank you, I'm okay." 

He dipped his head, moving down the bar again. Okay. You were okay for now. Coast was clear.

It was sitting there at that bar that you first met him. 

He had met you before- well, had seen you pass by the windows nearly every time he had been there without fail. It was, in a way, something he came to look forward to, you passing by the window at nearly the same time every day, as odd as it sounded. He wasn't sure why. Perhaps he just liked patterns, repetitions. Things he could rely on. When he saw you sitting at the bar, it took him a moment to recognize you.

You slid your hood off the top of your head, shaking your head a little to loosen the strands of hair and to shake off the worse of the water. A quick glance down the bar told you no one was paying attention to you yet. Good. Okay. So far so good. You really couldn't stand it when people- strangers- looked at you. It made your skin crawl. 

"who would leave someone as lovely as yourself alone at the bar?"

The voice at your shoulder caused you to jump out of your skin, heart jumping to your throat. You quickly retracted your hands from where they been placed on the bar to close to your chest, turning to see who it was that was... flirting? with you. 

"eesh, relax, doll, big bad monster ain't gonna eatcha."

A rather tall skeleton seated himself on the stool beside you, winking at you as he did so. All the movement did was make your gaze flick to the thin cracks spiking away from either of his eye sockets, one over the top of skull, the other down to his rather lazy grin. The fluff of his crop jacket shifted around his neck, making you realize the guy had no shirt on underneath it. Was he... Was he flashing the world? Like, all the time? Was that a thing he just... did? Was it normal for him to do?

The yellow ring of light that must act as a pupil flickered over your face as you stared at him, too shocked and caught off guard to say anything. Skeleton monsters were a thing?? Not that he was ugly or disturbing! There was something oddly pleasing about his features, but that just made you realize something-

From the cigarette between his teeth, to the jeans loosely hugging his hips, right down to the look on his face, he practically screamed Casanova. Such people didn't sit well with you. They made you uncomfortable just by passing a glance your way. Now one was talking to you. Your heart hammered in your chest and heat crawled across your cheeks. What were you supposed to do?!

Shit, he'd said something. 

"Ah, I'm sorry. I wasn't- I mean, no, I, um, I came alone. No one- no one left me here. There was never anyone here with me to begin with."

He propped up an elbow against the bar, apparently taking the answer as an invitation to talk more. He peered out at you from half closed eyes, looking to be entirely in his element. You were sure you looked quite the opposite. 

"shame. it isn't safe for such pretty folks to go walking around the city alone, yknow." Was it just you, or did his grin broaden slightly?

"W-well, I suppose, but I- I normally have someone with me. A friend, I mean." It wasn't a lie, at least. Right? 

He hummed in response, eyes flicking over you. You realized you must look like an easy target- rain-stained cheeks, damp and messy hair, baggy clothes, sitting alone at a busy bar. No wonder he'd come over. You cursed your bad luck. Why hadn't you just stayed at home? This was so embarrassing!

"'ey, Grillbz." The monster suddenly reached out with one hand, snapping to catch the bartenders attention. How when no skin? "you want a drink, pal? on me." 

Oh, shit, he was talking to you! 

"Oh- oh, no, I, um, I don't drink. Or I shouldn't. Um. I-I don't know." You looked away, hunching your shoulders in embarrassment. Was this guy just determined to break you, or was he genuinely being kind? You always had such trouble telling when it came to strangers. Or anyone.

"get them some fries." The fire monster- 'Grillbz?'- nodded, disappearing out of sight again. The skeleton blinked at you rather slowly, and it seemed almost reassuring? "food here is nice. you'll like it."

"O-okay. Um. Thank you." You tugged on the drawstrings of your hoodie nervously, wanting nothing more than for the rain pouring outside to lighten. 

For a while, you sat in general silence, listening to the murmur of noise from the other bar patrons. The skeleton seemed to be studying you, if the way his yellow eye was trained on you was any indicator. He breathed out a trickle of smoke at one point, and it almost seemed he was waiting for a reaction. You couldn't think of anything to say, so you opted to say nothing. 

"i don't bite, y'know." He chuckled, more smoke puffing out of his moth as he did so. Then his gaze flickered and he grinned broader, almost smirking? "hard."

It took all of .2 seconds for blood to rush to your face as you stared at him in shock. 

That was... blunt, for lack of a better word.

He burst into a low laugh after a moment, taking another drag on the cigarette. "i'm kidding, doll. lighten up a little. i'm not gonna hurt ya." 

"S-sorry." You ducked your head, wishing the earth could just open up and swallow you whole. Curse you to hells ninth ring! Why couldn't you just be a normal person for once in your life?!

It was just then that the bartender reappeared with a plate of fries. While eating was the last thing on your mind, considering your stomach had just formed it's millionth knot, you dipped your head and politely nibbled on one of them. Well, the guy wasn't lying. They weren't half bad.

You slid the plate closer to the skeleton, trying to be polite. He did say it was on him, didn't he? It was only common sense he should get the bulk of them, at least. He seemed halfway surprised by the offer, but didn't reach out to take any himself. Mostly, he just sat there, watching you.

More silence. Eventually, he broke it by chuckling.

"y'know, normally when someone wants me to leave them be, they'd've at least commented on the smoking by now." 

Were you giving off an aggressive or angry vibe?! Shit! Sure, you didn't know the guy, but you didn't mean to be rude!

"N-no! Y-you're fine. On... On both fronts. I don't mean to be... um. Rude. Besides, the smoking, I mean, it's your life, you can do what you want, we all die anyway, it's your business to do what you want in the mean time. I mean, I don't- I don't know if it even affects monsters in the same way it does humans, or what you're even smoking, so... It's not my place to say anything. And I don't... I don't mind your company?" The words came out in a rush as you weakly gestured with your hands, eventually deciding to stare down at one of the swirls in the countertop. It kind of looked like an eye. 

A pause that felt like it lasted centuries. Then, he chuckled again. It wasn't a bad sound; it came from deep within his ribcage, and it almost made you want to put a hand in his exposed sternum, just to see what it felt like. 

But this was a person- er, monster. While it would have been strictly out of curiosity, not some attempt to 'come onto him,' it would still be highly inappropriate. Part of you would never understand why so many things were sexualized by the public. Couldn't things be romantic- or, hell, even platonic, without being 'sensual' or 'sexual?' 

His voice brought you back to reality.

"you gotta different kinda outlook, don'tcha?"

"I-I guess. ... Did I... Did I say something funny? Or wrong? Sorry."

"no, you just reminded me of ...someone." He seemed to almost trip over the word, looking briefly conflicted as to whether to use it.

"O-oh."

"call me G." He stuck out his hand, making you realize for the first time that he smooth, ovular holes in his palms. It was hard to drag your eyes away from. Were they natural, or were they some kind of scar? Did whatever cause them cause the cracks in his skull? "c'mon. dontcha know how to greet a new pal? shake my hand."

You jumped out of your train of thought, hesitantly putting your hand in his- his fingers were long and slim, as if his hand wasn't bigger than yours already. "Sorry. I-I'm (Y/N)." 

Was it wise to give him your name? He didn't seem to have any bad intentions, but it was hard to get a read on him. 

"suits you." He winked again, giving your hand a light shake before releasing it. 

More silence. Something began to curdle within you, disappointed and bitter. Not towards him, of course, not specifically! More towards yourself. 

The first time someone's flirted with you since... ever, and it's some guy who practically does it for a living. Was there something wrong with you where normal people couldn't look at you and go 'hey, they seem nice, maybe we could be friends, maybe something else'? Were you just good for nothing except time to blow before someone better stepped into the bar? 

Stop that. It's not good for you. This is how you get yourself into sleep troubles, not that you didn't have one already.

You tried to stifle a sigh, but apparently didn't do a good enough job. His gaze focused on you more steadily, glancing over your expression as if to see he could gage what you were thinking.

"something troubling ya, pal?"

"No. I'm okay. Sorry."

"nothing to be sorry for."

He took another drag on his cigarette, eyes still trained on you. You picked over the fries quietly, wanting to say something but the words seem to clog up inside your head an deafen you. To try and spit them out would be like trying to vomit pins and needles. 

The night passed slowly, painfully past, with you sitting there in tense silence, the skeleton- G- seemingly just enjoying the atmosphere. Just as the rain started to lighten, he turned and directed his gaze to you again from where he'd been staring off into space. 

"never seen you come in before."

"I was- I normally walk around at this time of day, and I wanted to go out for a bit even if it was raining, but... It got kind of heavy, so..." Why were you telling him this? You didn't even know this guy?!

He nodded, eyes shifting over to look out one of the windows. 

"I should probably get going. My friend... They're waiting for me..." You moved to slide off the stool, but he caught your wrist. The movement caused heat to gather on your cheeks. 

"here." He pulled out a pen from somewhere and wrote something on your palm. When he released your wrist, you realized it was a phone number. You looked at him, confused, and he winked. "in case you ever need someone to talk to."

Huh. You'd been expecting a 'in case you ever get lonely ;),' but... That almost seemed like a strange thing to say, considering you assumed he was just trying to win you over. Maybe it was a less obvious way of saying the same thing...? Part of you, somehow, wanted to believe otherwise. You weren't sure why. Maybe you'd just been lonely for so long it was getting to you...? 

That was pathetic.

"Um. Okay. Uh. Have... Have a good night?"

You slid off your stool and he gave you a small wave as you headed for the door. When you paused, your hand on the knob, to look back, he was still watching you. You blinked sheepishly- you must have looked like a complete creep!- but all he did was wave again, cigarette dangling from between his teeth. Without a word, you dashed out into the drizzling rain.

Okay. You made it out with minimal damage. Score. That was... emotionally draining. The ocean could wait. In all honesty, you just wanted to sleep everything off.

When you got home, Piper was waiting for you. She followed you through the apartment, nosing at your hands curiously when you sat on the sofa. She stared at you accusingly as you stroked her, smoothing the almost black fur of her scruff.

"Oh my god, you have no idea what I've been through tonight." 

She snorted, yawning before looking at you again. You chuckled under your breath. 

"Yeah, I know, you're still angsty that I left you behind. You hate the rain, you hypocrite."

She looked away, ignoring you.

It was nice to have someone to talk to, even if they weren't, like... a traditional friend. She may never be able to answer in words, but that didn't mean it didn't feel like she was listening. You'd been so tired to having this stupid place all to yourself; it felt so much better to have someone with you than to listen to the wind outside the windows every night. Sure, there were still plenty of nights when you couldn't sleep and you wished you'd kept in contact with that person from high school, but...

You opened your hand, looking at the number scribbled neatly there. Should you...? For a moment, you frowned worriedly down at your palm, conflicted. Then you picked up your phone and pulled up your contacts.

Couldn't hurt, could it? Just in case you ever needed someone to talk to, right? 

...

What were you coming to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,,, I've done literally nothing but write reader inserts someone kill me
> 
> Also I don't know how to write Gaster!Sans. Kill meee.
> 
> Also this fic might suck,, oops lol


	2. Surprise

Your plan was to stay indoors all day the next day to recover from the trauma of having to surprise-socialize with a random, Casanova skeleton. 

But, God damn, why did it have be so beautiful outside today of all days?!

You just couldn't stay inside all day, and Piper was getting antsy for a walk. If you stayed inside all day at this point, she would probably decide to start destroying things like she did that last time. You really didn't want that, plus the outside was just so irresistible! You decided to leave at your usual time, considering that guy probably wouldn't be interested anymore. He could probably have anyone he wanted; why keep wasting time on you? 

The day passed slowly; by the time evening came around, you had already touched up your last article and sent it in and started on an extra, just in case they jumped on you on short notice. You had a part time job writing small, filler articles as someone who lived in New Ebott experiencing monsters on a day to day basis. The pay wasn't the best, but you had another part timer working for a bakery, so it wasn't that bad.

Piper was giving you a warning look as you fastened her leash to her collar. You chuckled under your breath, swinging the door open and letting her out first. She paused only long enough to let you lock the door, then dragged you down the hallway to the elevator. 

She calmed as you started down the familiar sidewalk, sniffing at random papers or patches of grass, alerting at birds or squirrels bouncing through the trees or hopping through alleyways, blatantly ignoring anything that wasn't worth her interest, including other humans or monsters. 

"Slow down, girl. The ocean isn't going anywhere." You huffed out as she dragged you over to sniff a trashcan and the ground around it. You waited for her to finish, then continued on. 

The sky began turning orange and pale indigo, the sun slipping slowly into the ocean. You could see glimpses of it between the buildings looming between you and your destination. It was such a lovely thing, to be able to live at the edge of the world like this. This used to be just a town with a few rather tall buildings, certainly not a tourist destination, but with the monsters finding this as their 'New New Home,' that was going to change pretty soon. You were glad that no one had pinpointed this place yet; the quiet was why you had moved to this place. The government was working to keep hoards of humans at bay until monsters were 'truly integrated' into society, apparently, but you couldn't help but wonder how well that was going to work out.

"Come on, Piper." 

Piper lifted her head from the tussock of grass sprouting from between the cracks of the sidewalk, trotting on again. She nearly pulled you off your feet when you failed to move quickly enough to keep up. She paused almost apologetically, allowing you to keep within reasonable distance, before walking again. 

You were a bit busy trying to keep track of where you were putting your feet to notice the rather familiar, bustling bar coming up on your left, or the rather familiar monster leaning against the wall outside. 

So it surprised you when Piper pulled up short to stop as a stranger's hand came down upon her head as that stranger crouched beside her. Except it wasn't exactly a stranger. She kept her rather regal, almost stiff posture as the skeleton's hand ruffled the fur between her ears.

"heya, pooch." G's eyes slid up to meet yours, and he grinned wider, eyes half lidded. "hey, pal. didn't think i'd be seeing you so soon."

You shifted on your feet, looking away briefly to try and brace yourself. "Hey."

"this your dog?" 

You couldn't help but snort quietly. "I should hope so." Shit! You didn't meant to say that out loud!

The skeleton chuckles, looking surprised. "what kind?"

You answer automatically. "A labsky." The confused look you receive immediately makes you realize your mistake and you look away, embarrassed. "I mean, a Labrador-husky. Sorry, I forget not everyone does the designer dog thing with mixed breeds." 

He chuckles again. "nah, it's cute." You try to stop the burning in your cheeks. A stranger complimenting you is still kind of off putting. There's a clicking of bones again metal. "'Piper.' nice to meet ya, Piper." 

Piper suspiciously sniffs his hand, then looks away in a silent 'You may continue.' He chuckles, ruffling her fur again. He peers into her eyes, expression suddenly unreadable. 

"what's with her eyes?"

The question catches you off guard, then you remember he's probably never seen a husky before. "It's called heterochromia. It's nothing to worry about; her eyes are just naturally like that. It's most common in huskys, that's all."

He chuckles, expression relaxing again. "two of a kind, eh?" He lays a hand on her cheek, oddly tender and careful. When he catches your confused expression, he grins broader and shoots you a wink. It shoots jitters up your spine- not because of the wink itself, but because of the now blue 'pupil' staring at you from his usually(?) empty socket. Then he blinks and it's gone.

He gives Piper another gentle pat. A second later, he pushes himself to his feet.

"I'm walking down to the beach, if you want join us." You blurt out the words before you can decide against, and immediately regret not thinking it through. You look away when his... eye brows(?) raise in surprise. He chuckles, and you wish you could just fly into the sun and disappear without a trace. 

"sure."

You're faintly surprised that he agreed, but the next moment you're walking with him at your shoulder as Piper leads the way along the sidewalk. He's quiet, hands in his pockets as he strolls along. You only reach his shoulder, and it's slightly discerning. You feel small next to him. His confidence, the way he looks, his carefree attitude all make you realize how little you really are compared to him. 

Then you're on the beach, and you pause to admire the path of orange and gold fire stretching across the water making a 'stairway to heaven.' A handful of monsters, one or two humans are caught in its blazing glow, silhouetted black as twilight descends. One monster- an enormous goat, judging by the horns curling from their head- stands beside a child, the two of them throwing stones in the water. 

"It's lovely out here tonight." You whisper, as you usually do, to Piper. The skeleton beside you glanced at you in surprise once more, but you try to crush the feeling of embarrassment fluttering in your gut. You'd almost forgotten he was there. 

With that, you step across the sand with Piper in the lead, heading for the long dock that used to service small boats but now had now real purpose. You can hear G's footsteps just behind you as you walk down the old, forever damp wood. You stop at the end and carefully lower yourself to sit with your legs dangling off the edge, Piper quick to follow. You glance up at G, then pat the spot beside you. He seems surprised- again- but sits beside you regardless. 

You pull a pack of gum from your pocket, pop a stick in your mouth, then offer one to the skeleton. His eye brows (eye bones? brow bones?) raise, but he grins as he takes a piece and sticks it in his mouth. For a while, all is quiet as you chew on the spearmint flavored chewing gum. The sun bathes the sky in shades of pale orange and peach, the scuffs of clouds highlighted gold and shadowed blue. 

"We normally come out here at this time of day. This was actually where I was headed yesterday, but normally Piper comes with me." You weren't entirely sure why you were telling him this. It was incredibly stupid. But at the same time, you couldn't stand the silence. It was filled with judgement.

G nods to himself, as if can understand why. Maybe he does. It is a great stress reliever. Maybe he's not as lax as he tries to come off as. It would explain the shadows beneath his eyes. Maybe it's something you can bond over. 

Who are you kidding.

For a while, it's quiet as the waves slap against the supports of the dock. Piper is content to subtly study the skeleton beside you, and he's apparently content to just sit there beside you as the sun melts into the sea. 

After a while, he pulls out a pack of cigarettes and lights one. They're not a kind you recognize, but they look to be an actual brand not... something else. They must be from the underground. After taking a drag, he offers you one. To say it surprises you would be an understatement. 

"O-oh, no, thank you." You gesture without any real purpose, embarrassment trickling up your spine.

He chuckles at your obvious fluster. "what have you got to lose?" 

You shrug hopelessly. "Not a lot, I suppose, I just... I've never smoked before."

He chuckles again, but he slips them back into his pocket. "try something new."

"I'd-I'd rather not, if I was entirely honest." You hunch your shoulders, looking away. 

"why not? what have you got to lose?" 

You shrug again, not meeting his gaze. "I don't know. Not a lot, really, but being skittish has helped me stay safe before."

"oh, really?"

"Yeah. Stick to what you know won't hurt you, you won't get hurt. Simple as that." You meet his gaze this time, and he's studying you almost curiously- not the look he was giving you at the bar (not so... judgemental-ish?), but almost just genuinely curious, like when you learn something new about a friend. It helps you calm down the nervousness fluttering in your gut.

"suppose that's true, but that sounds pretty boring. same things, every day, forever? you really gonna keep that up?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"that hardly sounds like living."

You can't help but chuckle. "My main goal is to get out of it with as few damages as possible."

"i thought the whole point of life was to see how many damages you could take and still get up afterwards and go 'hey, that was fun.'"

You laugh again, but don't respond. You can feel his eyes on you, but you don't look up to meet his gaze.

"alright, i've got a challenge for you."

Aaaand you're suddenly nervous again. "O-oh?" 

"try something new every day. just one thing, so long as it's not what you've done before, every day." 

You give him a confused look. "Wait, really? That's it? Even if it's something like... like eating cake for breakfast, or something?" 

He chuckles. "essentially, yeah. just... live a little." 

You look at him for a few long moments, then look away again. "Okay. I think I can do that."

"course you can. anyone can. some are just braver than others. guess you're one of the braver ones." 

That makes you look at him again. He's sitting, propped up with his hands behind him, head tilted back with his eyes closed, as if he's absorbing the dying rays of the sun. He's very... aesthetically pleasing. Handsome, but not in the sense of 'I'd date that.' Just... nice to look at. 

It's then that Piper stands and shakes herself off, obviously ready to head for home as was routine. You follow her, and G follows you, stubbing out his cigarette in the process. He catches your eye as you turn to head back for the beach, and grins lazily at you.

"i've got your first new thing for you to try."

"O-oh?" Please don't say 'come home with me ;),' or 'how about a kiss,' or 'ever been in bed with a monster,' or-

He extends a hand to you, his phone sitting in his palm. "give me your number. as pals." 

You blink down at it in disbelief, then take it gingerly from him and hesitantly tap into his contacts. You look up to meet his gaze to make sure this isn't some joke, and he just nods for you to continue. Is this really the smartest thing to do? You haven't even known him for forty eight hours, and so far he's flirted with you, offered your some mystery brand of cigarettes, and challenged you to try something new every day. 

Somehow, though, you feel that he means no harm. And, for whatever reason, you want to believe that. 

You tap your number into his contacts, though you're unsure what to put as your contact name. Just your name- does he even remember it?- or something stupid or silly? Screw it, you've come this far.

When you pass the phone back to him, his gaze flickers over the contact and he chuckles. "well, thanks, 'that weirdo with the dog.' appreciate it." 

You chuckle in response, shrugging in embarrassment. "Figured it fit."

He grins at you and starts to walk with you down the dock, Piper, of course, in the lead. "can't wait to see what you put me as."

"Oh, um, actually, I already put you in. Just as 'G.' Didn't actually think you'd ever want to text me, but, you know..." You shrugged, avoiding his gaze as a hoard of butterflies beat at your innards.

"if i didn't want to text you, i wouldn't have given you my number."

"I guess I just thought..."

"what?"

"I don't know. That I seemed like a dud. Just someone at the bar to talk to blow time, considering you're... you know, a certain kind of guy." It's even more embarrassing to admit it out loud, and heat gathers on your cheeks as you dip your head away. You seem him glance at you in surprise out of the corner of your eye.

"i'd rather you consider me a pal, but, hey, that's your decision." And he shrugs, chuckling under his breath. It's your turn to glance at him in surprise. 

"I thought..."

"thought what?"

"It's embarrassing to say aloud."

He seemed to catch on, and chuckles, shaking his head. "nah. if that's what you're afraid of, don't sweat it. despite my looks, i ain't that kind of guy."

"R-right. Sorry. Sorry." You would like nothing more than to spontaneously combust, please. That would be great. Better than this, anyway.

"hey, don't sweat it. can't blame you for jumping to conclusions." And he shrugs as if he really couldn't care less, stopping outside the bar. You feel obliged to pause as well, though Piper looks up in annoyance. 

"feel free to shoot me a message anytime. no skin off my bones." And he winks, though it seems for more for affect than out of flirtations. You can't help but snort. Curse your weakness for bad jokes! You give him your best smile, raising a hand in farewell.

"I see what did there. I'll consider. I'll, uh... See you around?"

"see ya, 'weirdo with the dog.'" And he waves with a rather teasing(?) grin, then steps into the bar. 

Piper tugs on the leash, urging you onward. After a moment, you follow. 

That went better than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for overuse of the words embarrassment and surprise,,,, kill me,,,
> 
> Sorry this is so bad lol. Now taking requests for G!Sans and Reader doing awkward friend things, I guess? This thing has no real plot tbh,, that's an ongoing problem with my fics lol


	3. Ding

It was very quiet in your bedroom that night, save for Piper's quiet huffs and puffs of dog snores. You'd been lying there for an hour, but despite the fatigue dragging at your eyelids and chewing at your muscles, sleep evaded you. It was like some part of your brain was just awake enough to keep the rest of it from the sweet embrace of slumber. 

'Hey,' some part of your brain whispered, 'do you remember that thing from third grade?'

'How about fifth?'

'Or that time you got tricked into thinking someone would actually ask you out for prom in high school?'

'How about that time when Charlie...'

You groaned, rolling over and clasping a pillow over your ears. How you longed for someone to talk to on nights like this. Of course, you had the number of that skeleton, G, but... 

You paused in your fidgeting, lowering the pillow and rolling over to stare at your phone, sitting silently on the nightstand. You frowned at it, glanced at the clock. 1:47. With a sigh, you threw out an arm and dug your fingers into the phone's rubbery case. 

\- Hey.

\- Are you still awake?

For a few long, long minutes there was no response. You let out a long breath, ready to roll over and submit to your fate of a long night tossing and turning.

Ding!

* yeah

* i take it you are too

\- I couldn't sleep. Sorry if I woke you.

* nah

* neither could i 

* so

* what brings you to text a skeleton in the middle of a sleepless night

\- That was surprisingly poetic.

\- Shoot sorry, um.

\- I guess I just wanted someone to talk to. You know?

* yeah

* i know

For several minutes, nothing was sent. You realized he must be waiting on you. 

\- How does a skeleton text when... You know... No flesh pads??

You could have beat your head against a wall. Was that really the best thing you could think of?

* heh

* a man must keep some of his secrets ;)

You snickered in relief. At least he wasn't offended. ... Or was he?

\- I'm going to guess magic.

* ah, ive been found out

\- Lol

\- Sorry, that must have seemed like such a tactless comment. My brain to fingers filter isn't working real well right now.

* if i was offended i would have let you know

* im nothing if not an honest man

\- I thought you would say skeleton, in all honesty. 

* my loophole has been found

You snickered again, eyelids drooping. Piper, clearly annoyed by the light of the screen, snorted and lifted her head briefly to give you a look before rolling over with her back to you. You smiled, reaching out and ruffling the coarse fur of her back. 

\- Piper says hi.

* i say hi back

You huffed out a laugh under your breath, touching Piper's back with a hand. Her ear flicked, signaling she was listening. "G says hi back." You whispered to her. She snorted again, blinking under her heavy eyelashes. 

\- I think she appreciates the gesture.

\- It's hard to read expression on a canine face.

* i beg to differ

\- You'll have to teach me sometime, then, mister suddenly a dog expert.

You spent an undetermined amount of time smoothing Piper's fur, eyes half closed as you leaned against the bed frame. You were drifting in and out of darkness when your phone dinged again. 

* so hey

* since its morning and all its technically a new day

* got any plans for a new thing to do today

You mulled it over, thoughts slow and sluggish. Then something occurred to you.

\- Hey, I texted you.

\- That's something new.

\- It counts.

* fair enough. 

You were dozing off again, now laying on your side with your phone hanging loosely in your hand, when the blinking screen startled you awake again.

* hey

A long pause. The bubble with the ellipses bobbed gently on the screen for a while, as if he wasn't sure what to say.

* night

* thanks for talking w me

You smiled weakly. This guy was oddly adorable. For someone so visually smooth, he was apparently a huge dork. 

\- Same to you. I'm finally falling asleep over here.

* shoot me a message whenever you cant sleep

* this could be a thing we do

You snickered, eyelids heavy and eyes burning with the need to sleep.

\- Same to you. Goodnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's short and cheap, but hey, it's something. My depression has made a sudden upsurgence recently and it's draining me of my motivation. I hope you like this nonetheless?


	4. Friends

"Are you ready to order, dearie?"

"Uh, no, no, you can go." 

You stepped a little farther from the line of people and monsters attempting to get some of the spider-themed sweets and baked goods in the glass display before you. The many-armed, many-eyed girl behind the counter giggled into a hand, quickly taking the order of the man behind you and passing him a bagged bundle of cookies and a coffee before taking his money. 

She kind of reminded you of one of the monsters from the beach- a four-armed one, with the bottom half of an arachnid. The only thing similar between the two was their spider-related appearances but it was still enough to draw your thoughts back to the beach. How you longed to be there now...

"Are you ready to order, dearie?"

You jumped, averting your gaze to the spiders scuffling about on the countertop. Why did you come in here so often if you could never work up the nerve or make the decision to order something? Hot embarrassment crawled up your spine when she giggled again. "A-ah. Um, no. I guess I'll just looked for a while."

"they'll have a spider doughnut."

You blinked, then whipped your head around to see if that voice belonged to who you thought it did. It did. G grinned at you, leaning against the countertop as the spider-girl- Muffet, her name tag and the sign outside read- tilted her head curiously, glancing between you before dipping a hand into the case. 

It had been several weeks since you had texted G, and you had more or less kept up a... 'relationship' (acquaintanceship?) with him. You texted sometimes (only if he initiated it or if it was really, really late and you had no other choice), briefly chatted outside of Grillby's sometimes, walked to the beach sometimes. It wasn't bad, to be honest. Nothing truly embarrassing or regretful had happened yet, and you hadn't scared him off, so that was cool. Still. Talking to anyone was... nerve-wracking.

"G! I, I didn't know you were here."

"i kind of figured." Muffet handed him a small bag, which he then extended to you. You took it hesitantly, fingers brushing his phalanges. It was an odd sensation. Not just because he was a skeleton- you hardly ever made physical contact with anyone other than Piper. He eyed you a moment, then turned back to Muffet as he pulled out his wallet. "and a hot chocolate." 

Shame, cold and burning as dry ice, settled in your stomach and you stepped forward with the intent to stop him. "You don't have to pay-!"

He side eyed you and paused a moment. "you been keeping up with that 'new thing every day' challenge?"

Confusion replaced the shame, if only temporarily. "N-no, not really."

"well, your new thing for today is letting a monster buy something for you." And he grinned, sliding a bill across the counter as Muffet placed a steaming cup of hot chocolate within hands reach. He turned, picking it up and passing it to you, then heading for the door with the obvious intent that you should follow him.

You clutched the hot chocolate close to you, baffled. "Thank you, but... Why hot chocolate? It's nearly summer. It's not even cool anymore."

"your hands were cold." He shrugged, as if it was obvious. The fluffy rim of his coat ruffled with the movement. 

You glanced at your hands as if surprised at them. You'd nearly forgotten about that. "My hands are always cold. It's just... how I am. I hardly notice anymore." 

He hums, sparing you a glance. Was that a hint of curiosity in his gaze? "so, you've been slacking on me?"

It took you a moment to realize what he meant. You glanced away. "I guess. It just... slipped my mind."

"that pause indicates that's not necessarily true."

You looked at him in surprise. He was strolling along beside you as if it were the most normal thing in the world, not even glancing at you as he balanced a toothpick between his teeth. Huh.

"I guess."

"you sure do guess a lot." He chuckled. "hey, i'll make a deal with you."

You slid glance in his direction over the top of the hot chocolate. "O-okay?" Mm. This hot chocolate was really good.

"you hang out with me today, and agree to try some of the stuff i offer, and i'll consider your days all filled whether we actually did enough for you to catch up or not." He gave you a rather cocky smile, as if he knows you don't have the guts to say no to his face. Or maybe that's just his default. It's hard to know.

You mulled it over, not meeting his gaze. "W-well... I suppose. I already did write today, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt." 

He nodded, still grinning, to the bag still clutched it your hand. "alright. first thing is you have to try that. trust me when i say you'll like it. Muffet really doesn't cut any corners."

He chuckles when he catches your face reflexively scrunch up in uncertainty, then gives you a 'I told you so' look when you bite into the treat with a surprised hum of enjoyment. You huff, embarrassed, before tearing off a piece and extending it to him.

"Your new thing is to accept this. You paid for it, you might as well enjoy it, too." You interrupted him before he could turn it down, then quickly regretted it. Would he be offended? Relief washed over you when his eyebrow (eyebones?) raised in surprise, taking the piece with an amused chuckle.

"see, we'll change you yet. soon you'll be like me."

He laughed when you reflexively snorted in disbelief. 

 

"try these on."

You glanced at the skeleton-themed gloves in disbelief, then back up to G's eyes. He's still grinning, looking pretty pleased with himself, before waving them temptingly. You wrinkled your nose jokingly, causing him to roll his eyes. 

"you've accept a total of two things i've suggested so far. at this rate, i'll have to guilt you into accepting all of them just to catch up." And he waved the gloves in your direction again, clearly waiting for you to take them. You hesitate for several long moments, then gingerly took them from his hand, frowning childishly at him when he grinned in a triumphant way. 

"Mean."

He shrugged, looking rather proud of himself. "just try them on and we'll see what you think."

You glance down at them, frowning again. What if they were itchy? Would he be offended if you said no? Would he force you to get them anyway? 

"listen, if you really don't want to try them, that's fine. what've you got to lose?" 

You glanced up hurriedly, shame crawling hotly up your spine. He was studying you patiently, apparently waiting for you to make a decision. And suddenly, you realize he's at least somewhat right. What /do/ you have to lose?

You slide one on, surprised to find they're semi-fingerless. They're also soft and comfortable, not too clingy or restraining. You flex your fingers a few times, turning your hand over to look at the phalange-printed fabric. 

"not too bad, eh?" 

Your cheeks crawl with heat when you glance up again. He's got that smug little look on his face again, eyebrows raised as you tuck your hand close to your chest as if to hide the source of your embarrassment. 

"N-no. ... Pretty nice, actually." You say quietly, not meeting his gaze. He chuckles.

"well, cmon, then. let's go obey the law and actually pay for those." 

"O-okay. ... Wait, are you implying you've done the opposite of that before? G?" 

He snickers under his breath as he walks up to the cash register, you trailing distressedly behind. 

 

"have fun, then?"

You murmur agreement, still not meeting his gaze. "Y-yeah. Still don't know what someone like you is doing spending the day hanging out with someone like me."

"you've been saying that a lot. but, hey, at least we know you don't find hanging out with me as bad as you thought."

"I say that because I really don't know why. Also, I never thought hanging out with you was bad. I'm just... nervous."

"cause i like your company, maybe?" G rolled his eyes as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "seems likes its been a while since you've had good friends."

You shrugged, looking away as you pushed your gloved hands (the very next thing he had more or less dared you to do was wear the gloves for the rest of the day) into your pockets. "Isn't that pretty egotistical? To call yourself a good friend, maybe. Sorry, that was rude. I mean, you are pretty cool. You do have the right to say that. Never mind."

He laughs under his breath, giving you an amused glance. "nah, you've got a good point. fair enough, fair enough." 

Oh, good, he took the subject change bait. You laughed along with him as you walked beside him. You must have looked strange together, you realized suddenly- the laid back, relaxed, suave skeleton with the meek, nervous, socially awkward human. A feeling of self consciousness crawled up your spine, despite you being nearly alone on the darkening street. 

"anyway." His voice broke you out of your thoughts as a trickle of smoke came out with it, a cigarette now balanced between his phalanges. "i'll be seeing ya. text me or something, if you want."

"Y-yeah. Same to you. Goodnight." You nodded to him as he gave you a small wave before heading slowly off in the direction of Grillby's. 

Piper was not pleased that you didn't take her down to the beach, though she investigated the gloves on your hands quite thoroughly before dismissing them with a decisive snort. You sighed, collapsing on your sofa tiredly. A short trip to the bakery, maybe the store, was what you planned. What you got? A day on the town with a guy that probably found you to be more of an amusing child than anything. Final thoughts?

Tiring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired omfg
> 
> Uh
> 
> Have this.
> 
> ,,, still taking prompts btw. If you want to see G and reader doing friend shit together, drop it in the comments! Honestly I have no idea what I'm doing so


	5. Late night snack run

Weeks pass much faster now that you know G. Maybe it's because you actually have someone to talk to, someone to look forward to seeing on the way to the beach, maybe because your mood has lifted. Even Piper seems to feel it- she'd been much more inviting to cuddle sessions as time went on. Maybe it was because of G. Or maybe it was because she was getting used to you now. Who knew.

Anyway, it was summer now. Late night skies looked bright, but not as crisp and clear as winter's. You disliked the heat, but here, near the ocean, a breeze was usually ruffling tree tops, so it wasn't too bad.

You've known the skeleton for roughly three months now. Soon it will be four. For some reason, you feel accomplished. You hadn't scared him off for three whole months! Sure, it was still an odd kind of friendship, but it was... nice. You were glad it hadn't been snuffed out yet.

Ding!

* humans fashion is weird

\- Oh, tell me about it. 

* like

* its a piece of clothe that goes around your waist to hide your weird human sex parts

* why does it matter if its on a dude or not

You chuckled. G got like this when it was really late. The best part was that he would pretend none of it ever happened the next day, like he'd never even said anything in the first place.

\- Beats me. Don't ask me, I don't understand my society, I just work here.

* fair enough

\- Also, 'weird human sex parts' 

\- Nice

* monsters dont have all

* that

\- Fair enough.

* hey

*dont steal my thing

\- Alright, alright.

It was silent for a while. You didn't know what to say or how to respond, so you let the awkward feeling hanging in the air stagnate. You reached out and ruffled Piper's fur, which she responded to with a groan. You chuckled under your breath, watching lights flicker across the wall as something disturbed the street lights outside and thus disturbed the little beads of orange filtering through the tightly closed blinds. 

* hey

* this is weird but can i call you

* kinda just wanna talk you know

Yeah. You did. You could understand the urge; sometimes, typing just doesn't cut it. Maybe he was having one of /those/ days.

\- Sure thing. Don't even worry about it.

There was a long pause. Then, his contact flashed on the screen as the ringer went off. You tapped the little green button and lifted the phone to your ear, sitting up further and resting your back against the mountain of pillows behind you. There was ruffling on the other end.

"hey."

"Hi, fancy you calling at such a late hour." Shit! Curse your stupid late night mouth and it's dumb, dorky phrases. To your... relief(?), he chuckled under his breath. He sounded tired, even through a chuckle.

"so. uh. what're you, uh, up to?" 

You snorted. "Um, not a lot. Was just texting you a second ago."

"right. shit. sorry. i'm... tired." He sighed, and there was clicking and clattering in the background. 

"Well, I mean, it is like, almost 3 am. Can't really blame you." 

"you said you can't fall asleep sometimes. what do you do?"

Was he... asking for advice? You scratched the back of your neck. "Uh. Not a lot. Wait for myself to fall asleep and hate myself in the morning." You chuckled, and he joined half heartedly along with you. "I, um, I've got this simple sleep-aid pill that really just tells your brain it's time to shut off. I don't use it very often. Cause, you know... Dependency and all that." You sighed, dragging a hand across your face. "I feel like a fool for admitting all this."

"hey, hey, don't." The shuffling in the background stopped. Where he previously sounded distracted, it sounded like he was now adjusting his phone and giving it his full attention. "i've done the same thing. stayed up forever until i kind of crashed. never found any sleeping pills that worked, though. used to read until my eyes hurt, too."

You laughed. "So I'm not the only one! I guess we can both just be... sleepless nerds together. Or, I'm a nerd. You're pretty cool. I'm the nerd one." 

He sniggered into the line, and some rustled in the background. "i'm flattered, but, hey, gotta admit nerds are pretty cool." You snorted and he laughed under his breath, then fell silent for a moment. He swore under his breath, and there was more clattering in the background. The phone rustled, and you assumed he had switched the phone into a different hand. "damn it. out of ice cream." 

You blink. Was he getting a late night snack, 'teenage break up' style? Not that you could blame him. Based on the fur-lined coat, he was from that cold part of the underground. Maybe he wasn't used to the heat? 

"Hey, I know a pretty nice ice cream shop near main street. Open twenty four hours a day. Think Waffle House except... ice cream instead of waffles." You scratched at your hair, tousling it. There was a pause of the other end of the line.

"want to go on a late night ice cream run?" 

For a fraction of a second, you wondered if that was a smart idea. You still didn't know very much about this guy except that he smoked, he didn't sleep very regularly, and he screamed Casa Nova from fifty yards away. Also he was a nerd and had admired the sea shell you had picked up off the sand that one time when he thought you weren't looking. Should you really trust him enough to go out, in the middle of the night, when no one was around, and no one knew where you were going?

Fuck it. If you got mugged, you got mugged going to get some fucking good ice cream. (Later, you would realize your brain to actions filter was virtually off and/or nonexistent.)

You swung your legs out of bed. "Sure. I'll be there in like, five minutes. 'Over the Moon' ice cream parlor." 

"alright."

 

You were shuffling down the street in pajama pants and a t-shirt about three times too big for you and sneakers with no socks, Piper being dragged unceremoniously along, a minute later. The street lights illuminated rings of orange-grey pavement up and down the street. No one with half a brain was out and about, it seemed. Piper sniffed at a tuft of grass tucked into a crack in the pavement as you stepped over it. 

A few lights glowed inside of shops, though most everything looked dark and deserted. A few monsters- the night roaming kind, it seemed- were leaning against walls or sitting on benches, nodding kindly as you passed. It was such a peaceful night. You tried to find the moon as you steered Piper down the street that, a few blocks away, held the shop you were looking for.

You met up with G outside the shop. He was already there, leaning on one of the walls, when you arrived with Piper. When he evidently heard your approach, his head rolled to the side to look at you and he raised a hand in a half-hearted wave.

He looked near entirely different. Rather than his usual dark, suave attire, he was dressed rather similarly to you: loose sweatpants, t-shirt that actually covered his entire ribcage and empty abdominal cavity, and- this was the best part- fuzzy pink slippers. From the tired look on his face to his ruffled clothes, he screamed 'out for a midnight snack' rather than 'mister steal your girl.' You realized you must not look very different. 

You both looked like you had just rolled out of bed. And you had. Quite literally. Even Piper had the look, with several tufts of fur standing up here and there like bed head. 

To say the teenager behind the counter was surprised to have business at such an hour might have been an understatement; when the little bell by the door rang, she hurriedly stuffed a book under the counter and straightened up. Her shocked gaze stilled on G's face for a moment, and you realized after a second that she must have been staring at his 'scars.' She looked even more baffled when you came in beside him with a tired and grumpy dog at your heels. So much so they she didn't bother to say anything about not having a dog in the store. 

"Uh, good... morning, how may I help you?" She stepped sideways to stand behind the large glass display of big tubs of ice creams. 

G almost looked lost as he studied all the flavors. Maybe he hadn't expected so many options. You nudged him teasingly, elbow bumping harshly between his ribs through his thin shirt. You gave him a small grin when he slid a glance your way. "You should try the coffee. If you're a coffee person, you'll like it. Guarantee it. Maybe. Most likely. Blue moon is nice, too, though. I mean, we kind of do have all night to choose."

He ended up getting a regular size of coffee ice cream, and you got a small of blue moon, despite his persistent questions of 'you sure you don't want more?' He ended up paying for yours when you were distracted attempting to make sure Piper didn't knock the trashcan over or curl up on the mat by the door. 

He poked curiously at his ice cream with his spoon, then brought it up to give it a tentative lick. Huh. So that's how skeletons ate ice cream? His tongue was of the same pale, yellow-gold hue of his eye and you chalked it up to magic in the back of your mind. You were too busy licking up the dripping blue ice cream to worry about it too much. 

"So, good or what?"

He hummed, pulling the spoon out from between his teeth. "pretty good. not a bad place."

"Told you so." 

He snorted at your feigned childishness, slipping another spoonful into his mouth. For a while, you stood awkwardly outside the glowing ice cream shop as Piper huffed and snorted and eventually sat. 

"So... What now?"

An idea seemed to occur to him and he stabbed his spoon into his remaining ice cream, using his now spare hand to grab your own and started off in a random direction. "c'mon. i know a shortcut."

Confused, you stumbled after him with Piper in tow. You blinked, and suddenly the terrain beneath your feet changed and he dropped your hand. You blinked several times, looking around confusedly. When you registered where you were, you shook your head sharply and stepped away a half step.

"Uh, whoa. Wow."

G chuckled, licking another glob of ice cream off his spoon. "yeah. come here sometimes." 

A few feet away, a wall rose to your waist and over the top of you could see the street, far below. You must be on the roof of some apartment building? Or something? Your tired mind couldn't make sense of any of this and didn't even try. 

G shuffled over to it and lifted himself up and swung his legs over the edge, plastic spoon clutched between his teeth. He waved you over without looking over his shoulder. After a moment, you gingerly tip toed over and sat carefully beside him, careful not to look down for more than a moment. 

For a while, you ate your ice cream together in silence, trading spoons every now and then to test each other's flavors. Apparently, he found blue moon pretty good. After a while, you lifted your gaze to follow G's to find him studying one of the constellations hanging loosely in the sky, the moon a sliver near the horizon. 

"... still can't believe you guys have practically conquered space without us. what i would give to stand on the moon. or just... go to space. out of the atmosphere. up there, amongst all that space stuff. how cool that must be."

You smiled crookedly. "You're even more of a nerd than I thought. Can't really blame you, though. I knew someone who had a pretty similar dream. I wish you guys had been around for the moon landing. The Mars rover landing. All of that. I bet we would have gotten there a billion times faster with you guys' help." You sighed, eyelids drooping as the stars winked at you through millions upon millions of miles of space dust. 

G blinked slowly up at the hugeness of the late night sky. "when we were trapped underground, we had a wishing room that supposedly looked like the humans' night sky. i always wanted to see the real deal." 

You hummed, putting your now empty little cup on the wall beside you. "Did it disappoint?"

He didn't even hesitate or take a moment to consider. His response was almost instant. "no. not in the slightest. it still takes my breath away every time i see it."

You smiled, petting Piper's nose as she leaned her head against your leg. "I'm glad."

You spent almost an hour sitting on top of that building, watching the stars slowly swim through the sky, talking about all the cool stuff G should look up sometime- super novas, black holes, cold stars and the like. You didn't remember most of it when you woke up in the morning, considering you'd been halfway asleep the entire time.

Still, you held the memory close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im so tired I died kill me,,,,,, even if I'm already ded 
> 
> Here u go my children. I hope u like this. Even tho it's trash tbh,,,
> 
> Still taking prompts!!


	6. Smile today

"I'm just not entirely certain why you decide to spend so much time with me." 

Piper gave you a sudden tug forward, dipping her nose to sniff at the leg of cafes outdoor table. G had decided to accompany you to the beach again, and you were slowly making your way back to Grillby's. It had been a lovely sunset, a handful of clouds having cast their silhouettes across the water. You had attempted to skip a few stones, while G went to town with the idea. It had only taken you two seconds to realize he was using magic to his advantage. 

"not sure what you mean?" He raised an eyebrow at you, cigarette shifting between his teeth. He had usual gait going, with his hands in his pockets, slouched slightly backward. It made you feel even shorter than usual.

"I mean, someone like you is sure to have a lot of friends. Or, maybe that's just the impression? I just thought... If you did have a lot of friends, why would you spend so much time with some random, dorky human that you've only known for a few months? 'Cause like, if it's pity, I mean, I appreciate it, but you really don't have to." You gestured helplessly, feeling even more humiliated than usual. You couldn't meet his gaze when your face was burning so furiously. 

"well, first off, i do have a handful of pals, but they've all been... pretty busy since the whole surface thing happened. don't really have time to meet up or hang out very often. secondly, you're only the second human i've made friends with. gives me a chance to learn about how we differ. besides, you're one of the only people i know that can be interesting at three in the morning." He shrugged as if it didn't really matter. You mulled it over. 

"You think I'm interesting when I'm doing my three am rambling?" You chuckled as you said it. Normally you regretted those conversations the following morning; you tended to do stupid things as soon as midnight passed. 

"sure. i could also say i think you're interesting all the time. is that really such a rare thing to humans? are you supposed to be boring?" He snickered under his breath, shooting you a teasing look.

"No! I just... Normally people don't really say that kind of stuff to me. That's all." You shrugged, attempting to brush off the awkward turn the conversation had taken. You were pulled up short as Piper thoroughly investigated a small tuft of grass. 

"humans are weird." 

"So I've been told. By you. Many times." 

He chuckled as he paused beside the door to Grillby's, putting a hand against it. He waved you in after him as he he stepped inside, and, after hesitating, you followed, stomach churning nervously. You kept Piper close at your knees as you passed a few tables. Were dogs allowed in?

G sat the same spot at the bar he had the last time you'd been inside and nodded to the spot beside him as you approached. You hesitated, fidgeted, looked over your shoulder, then sat cautiously in the seat. Piper, not missing a beat, hopped up onto the stool next to you as though she had every right to be there. Panicking internally, you glanced anxiously at the bartender. He glanced at Piper, then looked somewhere over your shoulder. Confused, you twisted in your seat. 

A group of large, fluffy dog-like monsters were playing poker nearby. 

Huh.

"ey, Grillbz. grab us something to eat, yeah?" G glanced at you from the corner of his eye, laying his elbows on the countertop lazily. "eesh, where's the fire? there's no bomb to defuse, you can calm down."

"Sorry." You squirmed in your seat, staring at the leash clenched in your hand. 

"hey, these monsters don't care if you come in here. you're welcome as the rest of us."

"No, no! It's not that! I mean, I know." 

He raised an eyebrow, but didn't push any more questions your way. Instead, he casually asked you how your writing was doing. That's right; you had told him you wrote a little sometimes for a newspaper column. Which, you didn't specify. It was embarrassing to have to wonder if he was reading it when you knew they were lackluster at best. 

You soon were bouncing conversation back and forth, occasionally teasing, occasionally playful. At one point, G started flicking bits of fries into your hair, to which you retaliated by flicking small, ripped up pieces of napkin in his direction. Eventually, Grillby's passive, stern gaze forced you both to stop. Piper helped clean up the mess by eating the falling bits of French fry as you tried to brush them out of your hair.

"Ugh, gross. I'm going to have to pick pieces of fried potato out of my hair when I shower later. That is a genuine first. Scratch that off my bucket list." You made a face, running a hand through your hair, scowling when G snickered. "Don't laugh!" 

"hey, it worked, though."

"What worked? Flicking bits of fried food into my hair? What was the goal here?"

"i knew you'd lighten up as soon as i got you distracted. Alphys is the same way. laughter is the best medicine, they say." He winked, as though you were both in on some kind of secret suddenly. Embarrassed, you ducked your head.

"Sorry."

"nah. you look better when you smile, anyway. c'mon. your pooch is looking bored." He stood, stretched a moment, then waved you to follow as he headed for the door. You hastily slid off your stood and trotted after him, Piper at your heals. 

He walked you to your apartment building, pausing outside a moment. He waved, grinning as he turned to walk away, presumably to his own home. "see ya."

"Um, goodnight. Thank you." 

He paused briefly, looking back at you for a moment. You waved before slipping into the building, Piper giving him one last goodbye sneeze as she followed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's short and bad, and I apologize. I felt bad for not writing in forever. Here you go. 
> 
> Still taking prompts!!


	7. Craft fairs and book analogies

* hey

* do you have tomorrow off

You blinked at the message, raising an eyebrow. Huh.

\- Yeah, actually.

* cool 

* heard there was a thing going on on main street and was wondering if you wanted to go

* craft something

You mulled it over a minute, then snapped your fingers. Of course! The craft fair! It was held once or twice a year to help promote small business or to give people with productive hobbies a chance to make a little money off their goods. It would be a good chance for G to learn a little about human cultures! 

\- Sure thing, dude.

* so im a dude now 

\- Everyone is a dude. Always and until the end of time. It knows no bounds.

* lol

* meet me at grillby's at noon ?

\- Sure thing, dudette.

* so im a dudette now

* my title sure does change a lot

\- Fickle is the crown.

* lol

 

You pulled your jacket over your shoulders, slipping your arms into the sleeves before grabbing Piper's leash. You scooped up your glasses before tying the laces to your sneakers and making sure your hair was orderly. ... Could be better, but you had no time to spare. Piper trotted confusedly at your heels as you made your way down the hall. 

It was a fairly tepid day; warm, but not warm enough to be uncomfortable. They had chosen a good day to do this; shadows fell across the street occasionally as clouds obscured the sun, bringing temporary relief every now and then. Piper sniffed at the air as you made your way toward your meeting place. 

G was already there, puffing on a cigarette, when you came around the corner. He glanced up when you paused beside him, smiling at you in that usual slight, crooked way he had. He pushed himself off the wall, hands in his pockets. He dropped the cigarette and snubbed it out with his shoe.

"you ready?"

You patted your pockets, making sure you had your phone and your wallet, then gave him a thumbs up. "Ready as I'll ever be!" 

He chuckled, making you suddenly feel embarrassed; you couldn't help being in high spirits! It had been so long since you had attended one of these events. It was no fun to go alone, after all. Charles had always taken it as a chance to try as many home-made sweets and samples as possible...

It took you a moment to realize he had probably laughed because you were wearing those skeleton gloves he'd made you get a while back. You were glad you could finally put them to use as autumn loomed ever closer.

"alright, let's go." 

Piper wasn't exactly very excited as you set off down the sidewalks, a few cars rolling slowly past beside you. 

"alright. so." G glanced at one of the posters taped to a store's window as you went past. "what is a 'craft fair'?"

"You've probably got something a lot like in the monster world, just by a different name." You looped Piper's leash around your wrist, smiling. "A lot of people come together on Main Street and set up tables and whatever else they need and give out samples of or sell goods made either by themselves or by small companies. Sometimes both. There can be painters, bakers, knitters, the list goes on." 

"huh." He looked marginally confused, seemingly mulling over the information. 

"It's better if you see it yourself. It'll be a great way to learn about our cultures and old ways. I think you'll like it." You tried to give him a reassuring smile, which he returned with a small puff of... laughter? Had you said something stupid...?

Soon the road blocks and bustling sidewalks came into view. Piper, sniffing carefully, pulled ahead a little bit to investigate. You smiled, hands clutching each other for a moment. 

"Looks like we're here just in time! Early enough to miss the bigger crowds, but not so that we miss the better goods! Come on!" You nodded toward the first stand, picking up your pace a little as it drew closer.

"you been to a lot of these before?" 

"A few. Not many recently. Oh, look! She's a basket weaver!" You grinned, pulling to a stop beside the first stand you came across, littered with different shapes and sizes of wicker baskets. The aged woman behind the table had one in her hands, still weaving it together. She smiled kindly as you and G stopped, nodding.

"Feel free to look." She passed another loop of the thin material through a hole without looking before concentrating on her work. You reached out and picked one up, holding it up so G could get a good look at it.

"Check it out! All of these were made by hand. You can hardly tell! They look wonderful." G picked one up himself, running a thumb over the threads. He looked baffled as you continued.

"don't you have... machines, or something, to do that? why waste time doing it yourself? it looks like it would take a while." You blinked, glancing at him in surprise. 

"Well, I mean... It's like a productive hobby. A lot of people say there's a quality difference between the mass produced ones and the hand made ones. Here, look- butter made with an old fashioned butter churn!" You stepped up to the next table, pointing out the small tubs filled with the creamy white substance. Piper sniffed curiously at the plate covered in crackers smeared with butter. You picked one up, passing it to G, before picking one up for yourself. "Try it! It's good!" 

You bit into it, smiling through it at the small family behind the stand. The mother looked pleased, while her daughter picked up the box of crackers and a butter knife, clearly ready to make more as a group of people passed by. G hesitantly bit a corner off, seemingly contemplating the taste. 

After a moment, you elbowed him, 'not noticing' the girl pass Piper a cracker. "Well? What do you think?"

"seems pretty good to me. there's just one thing i don't get." You glanced up at him as you continued on your way, passing a group of old women and men who had several quilts up on display and were currently all working on one together. 

"What's that?"

"you said small businesses come here?" 

"Yep. Like those folks, with the jewelry? All handmade! Isn't it cool?" You pointed out a small table covered in rings and bracelets made of silver and plated gold, waving as you passed. 

"sure, but... isn't there a more efficient way to do that? if you have the tech, why not use it?" He looked... genuinely confused. Something dawned on you.

"Do monsters really not have... anything like this?" He shook his head. "But... Surely there's stuff you do by hand and not by magic, just for the sake of doing it by hand?" He shrugged. 

"not if we can't help it. monsters that can cast fire magic usually use that instead of a stove, for example." 

"Huh... But... I mean... It can be fun?" You were beginning to feel like you had no way to explain this to someone who had no idea what it was like. "I mean, think of it as... as... Watching a movie! Sometimes, you can watch the movie, and get the story in a nice hour and a half experience, but sometimes isn't it just nice to sit down with a book, even if it takes a lot longer?" You looked up at him, almost desperate to see him understand. Why? ... You weren't entirely sure.

He seemed to mull it over, then shrugged again. "alright. i see your point, i suppose."

You smiled, relieved. A few steps further, and you came across a table with several knit articles of clothing on display. Scarves, sweaters, socks, hats, just about everything you could imagine. You picked one up, smiling, and went to compliment the person behind the stand- but it wasn't a person. It was a monster, one you recognized from the beach.

Slumped over the table, one pair of arms crossed on top of it, he gave you a slight grin before raising one of his free hands- four arms, no wonder he had so much to sell- in a slight wave. Instead of Muffet's multiple eyes, he had just one, which was only slightly unnerving at best. Tucked under his arachnid lower half were four, long, multi-jointed legs. For a moment, you were startled into silence. 

Then, quickly realizing you must be being rude, you smiled. "These are nice!" 

He chuckled, but nodded to acknowledge the compliment. After a moment, you continued down the sidewalk, feeling rather giddy. 

"See? Even monsters are getting in on it! How nice!" 

G chuckled, glancing back at the table. "you know that guy?"

"No. Well, sort of. I see him on the beach more often than not. It's kind of like... a familiar interest, you get me?" 

He hummed, then nodded as you paused beside a small ice cream stand. The family behind the table explained it was all made with their grandmother's 'secret trick' and urged you to try it. You ended up walking away with a small cone for each of you. Piper was not pleased when she didn't get any.

You ended stopping and taking a seat on a bench, watching people and monsters alike pass by, some going up and then coming back down with a new article of clothing or piece of jewelry around their neck. Several dogs stopped to touch their nose to Piper's, and several kids patted her kindly as they passed. Once, a dog monster came up and crouched beside you, snuffling at Piper in an oddly friendly manner. For a moment, you were convinced they were having a conversation before the monster stood, wagged its tail at you, and trotted away. 

You ended up only looping back around toward Grillby's in the late afternoon, feeling stuffed on the dozens of samples littered throughout the area. It had been a very satisfying day, and you could feel a warm and fuzzy tiredness filling you from head to toes. It was... lovely. You could hardly remember feeling this great in a long time. 

"Thanks for inviting me to this big shindig. It was... nice." You dropped a hand, touching Piper's ears as she nosed your pocket. 

"sure thing. ...did you just say 'shindig'?"

"If you can make bone puns, I can say shindig?"

"okay, that's fair. thanks for, uh, explaining it to me. i learned something, at least."

"And had some rad ice cream."

"that, too."

You chuckled, waving over your shoulder as you turned to head for your home. "See you!" 

He chuckled right back, giving a halfhearted wave in response. "see ya."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,, featuring one of my monster ocs lol kill me,, he might have role later but for now I'm just shamefully shoving him in for no real reason,, 
> 
> Someone suggested a craft fair, and I don't know if this is what you wanted, but here you go!! Hope you like it! 
> 
> ,, still accepting prompts!


	8. "Hey, come on"

"have you ever... been in a relationship?" 

"W-whoa, hey, dishing out the big ones so early?"

You laughed uncomfortably from your place at the bar, side eyeing G carefully. You had decided to play game of 'have you evers' (a game you have never played) for your new thing of the day, and that was the question he opened with. Nice.

"hey, you know the rules." He chuckled, winking at you, one hand propped up to hold his chin, the other in the fold of his elbow. You huffed, bringing your arms closer to your chest as your cheeks burned with embarrassment.

"... Kind of. Not really. Is it my turn now?"

He narrowed an eye at you, then shrugged. "shoot."

"Hmm... Have you ever... ever... gotten... drunk...?" You shrugged weakly when he shot you a 'really?' look.

"hm. monster 'drunk' is different than human 'drunk,' but, yeah, I've gotten monster drunk." 

"Oh my gosh, seriously? What was it like?"

"hey, my turn. hold on to that one for you own turn."

"Agh, fine."

"ever gotten drunk?"

"What? Seriously?"

"hey, you asked first."

"Cheater. Um... No, but I did get kind... whoozy off some prescriptions for the flu, once." 

"laaame." 

"Oh yeah, mister 'I smoke cigarettes because they make me look cooler'?" 

"your turn."

"Okay. What is 'monster drunk' like?"

So it went on, passing silly or dumb questions back and forth to one another, laughing the time away. Grillby paused at times to add his two cents when G asked for it or to refill your class of water and then get reeled into giving his two cents on a subject. The pub was bustling that night; there was only one empty seat, and it just so happened to be next to you (score). It was warm but cozy as the night dropped a few degrees outside. Soon, the leaves would start to change, though actual cold weather was still a few months away. 

"have you ever... kissed someone?"

"Oh my goodness, you're just trying to find out how much a pathetic little kid I am, aren't you?"

"hey, i'm just curious. what? are most humans your age supposed to've?"

"Only a hundred million times."

"and..."

"No, I haven't. I mean, someone... No, not really. No."

"there was a whole lot of no's in that sentence."

"Someone once kissed me as a joke or maybe a dare. Does that count?"

"hm. i'd say no."

"Okay, than no."

"fair enough. your turn."

"Have you ever owned a pet?"

"... i guess you could say that. more like it showed up at my doorstep to be fed every so often. stole my stuff every now and then."

"Oh, dear. Your turn." 

"have you ever... hmm."

"Hey, G! Over here!"

G glanced up, waved to someone, then stood. "i'll be a second." He gave you a small, crooked smile, then strode across the floor and disappeared behind the heads of monsters and a few humans. You stared after him a moment, then turned forward again, folding your hands on the countertop in front of you.

You gave Grillby a small smile as he passed, and he nodded slightly in response. It was a tad awkward, sitting there alone. It felt like it had been a while since you'd had to sit anywhere alone, and, technically, it was, but you also hardly ever went anywhere to eat, let alone sit down to eat, before you met G...

Huh. Guess the guy had gotten his wish; you'd started slowly doing different things since you met him, whether you realized it or not. A small part of you wondered if Charles would have been glad that you had someone new to draw you out of your shell again. 

Still, you were beginning to feel the first signs of anxiousness creep up on you as you sat there, alone in the otherwise bustling bar. You directed your gaze down, plucking at a patch of skin on your hand as a small group of monsters passed behind you, laughing loudly. This was okay. He'd be back any moment now...

"Hey there, mind if I sit here?"

You jumped at the sound of a voice to your right, the owner of which apparently didn't care for your answer as he promptly sat in G's spot. There was another seat on your left, didn't this guy see the half-empty glass already accompanying this seat? 

You blinked at him stupidly for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. Whoever he was, he wasn't... bad looking, but something put you on edge. Roughly your height, roughly your age, a quirked grin that oozed perhaps too much friendliness, eyes peering at you from behind thick-rimmed glasses. He brought a hand up, pushing his hair out of his face, apparently waiting for an answer or some kind of response.

"U-um, ah- my friend was sitting there."

"Aw, well, I'll get up when they come back. No harm sitting here when they're not here to occupy it, right?" 

You tried to keep a frown off your face, not wanting to be rude. You put up a very bad, awkward smile. "I-I guess not."

"Hey, name's Rick." He stuck out a hand, grinning slightly broader. You hesitantly put your hand in his, shaking it weakly.

"(Y-Y/N)."

"Pretty name for a pretty person!" For some reason, the compliment just made your already uneasy stomach turn over. "So, you mentioned a friend. What kind of friend was this?"

"Huh?"

"Throw a dog a bone here, I'm asking if you're single!"

"O-oh. N-not really. I mean- um, no. I mean, yes, yeah, I'm single."

You hid behind a hand, face on fire. The person laughed, though all it did was make you feel worse.

"Hey, I get it. Relationships complicated, right?"

"W-what? No, no, I'm not-"

"Hey, I understand. I don't judge. And, hey, between you and me, you deserve better than someone who deserts you at a bar."

"W-what? No, he didn't." 

You leaned away a fraction, making desperate eye contact with Grillby on the other side of the bar as you grabbed your arms and hugged yourself. (Grillby's glasses glinted as he apparently glanced at the person, and he paused a moment, but ultimately he moved on. You supposed you could understand; the man was probably a paying customer...) The man took this opportunity to lean closer, still smiling. You racked your mind for a way out of this without ditching G over being somewhat uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. Majorly uncomfortable. Incredibly uncomfortable.

"Hey, relax, like I said, I don't judge."

"N-no, I- I mean..."

This went on for a few minutes more, you politely trying to avoid conversation while he pressed, and pressed, and pressed. You felt like screaming. Really loud. Also crying. Crying sounded really nice right about now now.

"Hey, I'm better than you think; let me buy you a drink." 

"Huh? No, no, I don't drink."

"Aw, come on, everyone drinks." 

He chuckled, putting a hand on your arm. His fingers were chilled, and you flinched under his touch, trying to pull your arm politely away. 

"C'mon, what do you want? Wine? Beer? You seem the type to have good tastes." 

"T-type?"

Cold sweat trickled down your neck, and you pulled your arm slowly closer to yourself. He kept his grip a moment, then let you pull away. 

"Hey, lighten up. Give me a chance before you blow me off."

"W-what? I-I'm not-"

"If I can't get you a drink, let me repay you somehow."

"Repay... me?"

"Sure, you deserve something." 

His grin turned slightly crooked, and he winked, but there was something you didn't like about it. You let your awful facade crumble a little bit, glancing frantically around for signs of a restroom to hide in.

"No, no. I don't think I need anything."

"Hey, come on, I insist. There's gotta be something I can do for you-"

"i think they said no."

You twisted around, relieved but still feeling your skin prickle where 'Rick' had touched you. Rick looked up as well, a momentary look of annoyance settling across his features and making him look suddenly less aesthetically pleasing, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. 

"G!" You tried not to sound too relieved, again, for the sake of being polite, but you were pretty sure you failed. 

He looked peeved. There was no smile on his face anymore, and he almost looked somewhat sinister, looming a good couple inches above Rick, hands in his pockets. Whether he was peeved because this guy couldn't take a hint or because he was in his seat was up for debate.

There was that flash of annoyance on Rick's face, but then he was smiling, sickeningly friendly again. It still made you uncomfortable.

"Hey there. You must be the guy who ditched them here, huh? And here I was thinking you wouldn't be coming back!"

"yeah. i'm back. kindly get out of my seat, eh, pal?" G grinned, but it looked almost threatening. Too late, you realized things might escalate into a scene.

"Hey, come on. No need to get angry. I was just having a talk with your... friend. Right? Yeah, we were just planning on scooting out of here." 

Rick's hand landed on your arm, and you flinched, trying to tug it gently away. Trying. Niceties forgotten, you grimaced uncomfortably.

"N-no, I don't want-"

"Yeah, we'll just be going to my place." 

G's eyes narrowed, and he scowled, no longer grinning. "it looks to me like they don't want anything to do with you, pal." 

Rick's smile turned tenser, eyes narrowing the slightest. "I said, we'll be going." He tugged on your arm, to which you resisted, heartbeat spiking as you realized that he wasn't cowed by the sight of the taller skeleton glaring him down. 

"P-please, don't-!"

"hands off 'em, pal!" 

G stepped suddenly closer, gripping Rick's wrist tightly in his own long, white fingers. Rick let go of you as though bitten by a snake, but G didn't release him, and you grew yet more scared of the conflict as his grip on the man's wrist grew tighter. 

Rick jumped to his feet, yanking his hand away. He glared at the skeleton fiercely, lip curling as though he'd been touched by some filthy animal. The two stood it off for a moment, G practically bristling as he narrowed his eye sockets dangerously. You cringed back against the countertop, wanting nothing more than to not be here.

Suddenly, a hand fell upon the man's shoulder, and he jumped, twisting around to glare at whoever it was. Grillby stared back at him through flashing lenses.

"... I'm going to have to ask you to leave." 

Rick seemed offended, jerking his shoulder away before snorting and storming away as though retaining some pride. He muttered something about 'damn monsters' before shoving his way through the crowded tables and chairs. 

G glared after him for a moment, then turned to you, expression immediately softening. "you alright?" 

You swallowed, took a breath, then nodded. "Um. I need some air, I'll be... right back." 

You slid off your stool and hastily made for the door, pausing only when the night's chill soothed away where your skin was burning where Rick had touched you. You pressed your hands to your face, pacing in circles for a moment before pressing your forehead to the cool brick of the building, taking long, slow breaths as you muttered rapidly under your breath.

It was during this that the door opened, and G stepped out, glancing up and down for a moment before his eyes fell on you. He immediately stepped out and made for you, looking concerned. He lifted a hand to touch you, then seemed to think better of it. He looked briefly confused as you mutter another phrase, but apparently decided to ignore it.

"heya. you sure you're alright?"

You held up a finger, looking around briefly. "One moment, please."

You took a few steps away, then picked up a discarded beer bottle. You hefted it, feeling it was empty, then turned to the empty alleyway. You cranked your arm back and threw it against the far wall. It wasn't a very strong throw, not by far, but it still broke into a few pieces when it hit the wall with a satisfying crack. 

You stood, letting the satisfaction of that wash over you a moment. Then you slapped your forehead and hurriedly forward, stooping to pick up the glass shards. G soon followed you, though he finished the task a lot faster, the glass shards all lifting from your hands and from where they were scattered across the dirty floor in a pale yellow glow. A moment later, they were dropped into a dumpster. 

G came up to stand beside you as you straightened, dusting off your hands on your jeans. "... better?"

You took a deep breath. "... Yes, actually. Sorry about that, I kind of got the urge and just went with it..."

"nah, whatever makes you feel better. ... that creep didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No. Just ... freaked me out. I'm okay."

"sorry it took me so long to show up. should've noticed sooner..."

"It's okay, you're fine. I should have just... told him to buzz off, or something."

"oh, like he would've listened." 

You sighed, running a hand over your face. "Well, that's one experience I could've lived without."

"sorry."

"You're fine. Do you mind if I go home?"

"no, i'll walk you."

"Thanks."

For a few minutes, you walked in a rather companionable silence. You tried to shake off your jitters. G looked like he was harboring a guilty conscience, so you knocked him lightly with your elbow, trying to reassure him. He smiled half heartedly in return, apparently understanding the gesture. Eventually, he spoke up.

"by the way, what was that, earlier?"

You blinked, looking at him in confusion. "What was what?"

"the... mumbling, earlier, outside the bar. i have no clue what you were saying."

It dawned on you. "Oh, that? That was nothing. Me calming myself down, that's all."

"okay, but now i'm curious. what exactly were you saying?"

You grinned sheepishly, looking away. "Aw, well... It wasn't exactly English, so..."

"wasn't exactly English?"

"No? I mean, it's another language. Human's all over the globe have a ton of different languages... It'd be impossible to name them all, really, but a lot have similar roots, especially those in Europe..."

He stared at you as though star struck. "you know more than one language? i kind of thought that would be hard, considering it sounds like they've all got different rules and weird quirks."

"Well, yeah, but that's just the way humans are. Some of us are raised knowing two, some of us learn two in school, some of us take on even more... It's almost become a hobby for people to learn other languages."

"seriously?"

"Yeah."

"... why not just all learn one?"

You chuckled weakly. "I suppose that's a legitimate question. Certain languages... They give us diversity. Identity, you know? It would be like if we all wore the same clothes. Doesn't that sound boring?"

"... suppose."

"Maybe I'll teach you a little some time."

"wait, really?"

You nodded, laughing. You smiled at the skeleton, suddenly infinitely grateful for being his friend. As you continued along the walk, you continued to bounce ideas and questions off one another. At the very least, it helped take your mind off... certain things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired,, I'm sorry if this is junk or filled with typos,,
> 
> Still taking prompts n stuff!!


	9. The Family

You hummed, fingers dancing over the keyboard as you tapped your foot to some smooth song coming out of your phone's speakers. You'd opened it to a random radio station, and allowed it to play whatever it so desired, and so far that was proving to be a nice idea, as it was a nice background noise to the otherwise quiet apartment. Somewhere, Piper sneezed. 

You paused, twisting in your squishy, spinning desk chair to look out the windows beside your computer. Up here, three stories up, it was easy to see the streets glow warmly as the sun turned the sky a buttery yellow near the horizon. The small strips of grass and tall, spindly trees growing alongside the sidewalks turned a hazy green-gold, showing signs of their autumn colors. Late August was lovely around here. 

Piper came up after a moment and nudged your leg with her nose, glancing at where you had hung up her leash by the door. You laughed, lowering a hand to ruffle the fur about her ears.

"Not yet, silly. We've still got an hour to waste. It isn't even cooling off yet. I know how you hate to be warm..." 

She sneezed, purposefully looking away. You chuckled and patted her butt as she paced away, hoping to be reassuring in her dog mind. At times, it felt odd to think of her as your pet; she could all but speak, and her personality held no place for 'you own me.' At times, you felt more like her caretaker than anything else, which felt silly to admit aloud. 

You turned back to the monitor, glancing over the paragraphs you had thus far. Your eyes wandered to the picture taped to the top right corner, the faces of your father and Charles beaming out at you as Charles held up a mug of something deep brown and frothy (root beer, as he'd been 19 at the time the picture had been taken). With two swift clicks, you reopened the email your father had sent you that morning, updating you on his work and how he was doing and the baby squirrels living in his attic and asking how you and Piper were doing. You chuckled, basking in the warm, fuzzy feeling it gave you. Maybe you could drive out to see him sometime... It would require special arrangements, but...

Just then, the music was nearly muted as your phone chimed quietly at you. You blinked, then reached over and picked it up. A text message- from G, no less- at this hour? Huh. Seemed early.

* hey

\- Yeah?

* you free friday 

\- As far as I am aware. What's up?

* you know those friends i told you about ?

* theyre finally gonna be in town for a few days and i was wondering if youd like to meet em

\- Wait, really?

* sure

* youd fit right in

You blinked down at the screen, suddenly giddy and nervous all at once. Giddy because he had thought to invite you along to meet these people he apparently hadn't seen in a while, and that was heart warming and made you feel very much like his friend. Nervous because he had just invited you to meet these people that obviously meant a lot to him and you were just an awkward pile of mush in front of just about everyone and you didn't want to be that friend someone else invited along only to end up embarrassing both of you.

\- Are you sure? I don't want to impose.

* nah

* youd fit right in

You hesitated, suddenly somewhat squeamish. There was so much that could go wrong... 

Then again, this was G, the guy that looked like a Casanova but was actually a huge dork that happened to save you from a very unpleasant experience with some creep at a bar, the guy that you had been friends with for five months, the guy who had gotten you skeleton based gloves that he never failed to tease you about. He'd probably understand if you made a fool of yourself. Probably.

\- Okay. 

\- I mean, yes, I'd like to meet your friends.

* k

* ill text you details later

* btw stop freaking out

* everything will be fine

You chuckled, suddenly embarrassed. Gosh, he knew you too well.

 

Friday approached both too quickly and too slowly for your liking. 

Slowly enough for you to have a lot of time to think about everything that could go wrong, and too quickly for you to come up with enough ways to save yourself from said predicaments. It was some kind of limbo-inbetween that was like your own personal slice of hell.

Lovely, right?

You ended up picking out an outfit the night you got invited, then swapping things in and out of it up until a few minutes before you left that afternoon to join them at some casual family restaurant. You ended up with roughly the same outfit as when you'd started, but... It seemed both better and worse at the same time. A simple, warm colored sweater with a thick neck you could hide behind, a pair of jeans not too baggy but not too tight, sneakers that went with the sweater, and, of course, the gloves. 

What? They were nice! A sort of... anchor, at times. Soft and comfortable, something you could mess with to distract yourself when your nerves got the best of you. 

"Sorry, Piper. I can't take you along. I don't know if anyone there isn't a dog person or not." You smiled, gently nudging her nose out of the doorway as you carefully tried to close it without squeezing one of her toes. 

You had been given a list of names and a general read on each personality, but they all got mixed up inside your head the more you thought about it. The only thing you were certain of was the names: Toriel, Frisk, Undyne, and Alphys, and, perhaps a fifth who might or might not be there named Asgore. That one and the first two seemed familiar, but you couldn't put your finger on it and decided not to think about it too much for fear of making yourself even more nervous.

It was a lovely afternoon, a tad warm with a nice breeze, and a handful of people walking up and down the sidewalk and around town as summer began its last stretch and they desperately tried to catch up on all the great things they hadn't done yet, like visit that nice little fudge shop to grab a cup of ice cream. You checked your phone roughly five hundred times, making sure you were on the right street, headed for the right restaurant, on the right side of town. 

You paused outside the suspected place for several long moments, uncertain. It was nice, warm looking place, neat and tidy and looking almost like a cozy dining room in a new house freshly furnished. There were tables with umbrellas outside, and you could see small groups of people sitting at the tables near the windows, all looking happy and comfortable among family or friends. 

You hadn't done that in... years. 

Not until today, anyway. 

After wondering if this was the right place for a minute, you hesitantly went inside. The hostess, a kind looking woman with her hair done up in a bun, smiled at you, reaching behind her and picking up a menu.

"Table for...?"

"A-ah, no, I'm..." 

You glanced around the short dividing wall, looking frantically around for wherever G and his friends might be sitting. You were a few minutes- five or six?- late, so surely they were here by now, right? Was this the right place? How foolish would you look if... The hostess was eyeing you, clearly waiting for you to finish your sentence. You opened your mouth, ready to ask if she had sat a skeleton recently, when there was a loud, sharp whistle from somewhere. Both you and the hostess glanced in the direction it had come from.

G was standing at a table off to one side, a cluster of monsters around him. His grin broadened the slightest when you met his gaze, and he waved, hand high above his head as if to get your attention. You let out a breath you hadn't realized you were holding.

"I-I'm with them." You smiled sheepishly at the hostess when she blinked at you in surprise. 

"Alright, follow me." She led you to the table, quietly putting a menu at the one empty seat before going back to her post. 

You stood there awkwardly, gripping the back of the chair. A soft white goat monster smiled at you kindly, and beside her a small human kid waved at you, grinning. That was... reassuring. The other two monsters- one a tall, rather intimidating blue fish-like woman with blazing red hair and an eyepatch, the other a short, rather chubby yellow lizard-like woman who was nervously fiddling with her glasses as she avoided your gaze- didn't seem to know how to greet you.

G's hand came down on top of your head, ruffling your hair as you ducked slightly. "you had me thinking you weren't going to show." He chuckled, grinning crookedly. He looked a lot more sincerely happy than you'd seen him before. It was... nice, to see him looking not quite so tired.

"S-sorry. I wasn't sure if this was the right place..." You smiled meekly, shying away before he could ruin your hair. He chuckled, hand jostling your shoulder.

"this is (Y/N)." 

The group nodded to you.

"Toriel." The soft goat woman shook your hand gently, her hand much larger and fuzzier than your own. "And this is Frisk." 

She dipped her muzzle to gesture to the child beside her, who leaned eagerly across the table to shake your hand vigorously. You laughed lightly. What could you say? You adored kids.

"Nice to meet you both. G's told me about you." 

Toriel smiled teasingly, looking over your shoulder at G. "Oh, really? Goodness knows what he could have possibly said..."

You laughed nervously. "Nothing bad! Only good things. I can tell he adores you guys." 

Toriel looked pleasantly surprised, and Frisk put a hand to their cheek in exaggerated flattery. It made you giggle, still nervously. 

"So you're the punk I kept hearing about?!" A large, slightly webbed hand was shoved in your face as the blue fish woman stood up, looming across the table towards you. Her teeth were large and sharp as she grinned wolfishly at you. 

You blinked at the hand, then timidly put your hand in hers. Goodness, did she look strong. "I-I suppose?"

She chortled, and you quickly found she didn't look strong only for show. Lord help save your hand. "The name's Undyne. Great to meet you and see just who's been keeping our pal busy."

You glanced at G, raising an eyebrow as a million bad things he could have told them about you raced through your head. He simply grinned, looking the slightest bit embarrassed. You were about to say something when Undyne beat you to it, quite loudly, you might add.

"Oh my god, what are these?!" 

You felt yourself stagger a step closer as she tugged on your hand, holding it up as if to see it better. She turned it over, eyebrows shooting up as she caught an eyeful of the skeleton print design on the gloves. You flushed, ducking your head as everyone looked at them in surprise. Heads around the restaurant turned, looking in your direction. 

If you just poofed out of existence that would be great.

You wilted yet further, face probably hotter than Grillby's to the touch, as Undyne broke into loud, boisterous laughter. G chuckled behind you, though it sounded quite faintly embarrassed.

"Oh my god! Did you wear these just to impress your date or something?!"

You looked up, confused more than anything. Date? Who? Was this some kind of set up? Date?? 

All four pairs of unfamiliar eyes rested on your face, clearly waiting for something. When you stared blankly back at them, their expressions slowly shifted from eager for a reaction to... something else. In Undyne's case, disappointment and disbelief. 

"Wait... You guys aren't a thing?" 

And in that moment, it dawned on you.

She- 

She meant G. 

...

Wait, what?

"W-what? No, no, no! We- we're friends! Just friends." G coughed quietly behind you, and when you glanced at him, he was averting his gaze, clearly not having expected this either. It wasn't that dating G was such an outlandish idea in and of itself, it was that she even thought someone like you- timid, nervous wreck of a nerd you- was dating the suave skeleton to begin with. It was kind of hard to picture ever getting together with him- not because it seemed gross or weird, but simply because it didn't seem remotely possible, as it seemed he could have just about anyone he so desired and why on earth would he want you?

"leave it to Undyne to assume." He muttered quietly behind you, making amused eye contact with you. You found yourself snickering out of nerves.

Undyne dropped your hand, crossing her arms in clear disappointment. "And here I actually had my hopes up for a second... Well, then, what's up with the gloves, anyway?"

You laughed quietly, averting your gaze to them in lingering embarrassment. "Uh, he did get them for me a few months ago, in an entirely platonic sense. They're comfortable and nice, so I've been wearing them since."

"How cute!" Toriel put a hand (paw?) to her chest, smiling at you. You averted your gaze again, ears burning. 

Finally, you turned to the final monster. She smiled at you just as nervously as you at her, and in that moment you recognized the connection and felt some of your fears wash away. Her hand was slightly sweaty, but your was, too, under the glove.

"A-Alphys." 

"N-nice to meet you. All of you." You dipped your head to the group, who all insisted at roughly the same time that you sit. G sat beside you, soon crossing his arms over the table. 

"S-so," It was Alphys who spoke first, wringing her hands gingerly as she smiled nervously at you, "um... W-what do you do?"

"Oh, uh..." You coughed, looking away. "I, um, I write short newspaper columns from time to time. About... living here. Also part time on this place on Main Street..." You hid behind a hand, embarrassed to admit you lived such a meager existence. 

"Oh, don't be nervous. We're glad to meet G's friend; he has spoken of you on many occasions." 

You blinked at Toriel, gears turning. "O-oh?" 

"Yeah, something about finding someone interesting to hang out with whenever we asked if he got bored without us." Undyne chewed on a straw, nearly ripping it between her teeth. You glanced at G in faint surprise.

"You think I'm interesting?" For some reason, it made you feel better. He shrugged, winking.

"'course. wouldn't spend time with you otherwise."

"Oh, gee, thanks." You snorted. Despite how it may have sounded, you knew there was some kind of affection behind the words. Undyne chuckled at the exchange, and you felt the tenseness in your shoulders loosen the slightest bit. 

Oddly enough, you felt almost comfortable amongst these monsters you barely knew. Almost like you fit in.

 

You chatted idly with them as the time ticked past. You tried to convince them you didn't need anything, but you ended up being pestered into ordering something anyway, though you didn't eat much of it, considering your nerves.

As it turned out, Toriel was Frisk's adoptive mother, and Frisk didn't speak very often and preferred to sign, but was very out going and friendly and bubbly, which made you smile and warm up to them near instantly. Undyne and Alphys were in a relationship, which Undyne proclaimed loudly before giving her 'totally awesome nerd girlfriend' a smooch on the cheek, to which Alphys retaliated by turning very red and hiding behind her hands. They were an odd, quirky bunch, and you found yourself readily opening up to them and telling them about some of the adventures you'd had with G, like the craft fair, and about Piper, like the time she continually spilled your coffee and stole your socks because you hadn't taken her out for very long the night before. 

As it turned out, they weren't bored by your retellings of these things (with a bit of help from G every now and then) in the slightest, and Alphys apparently related to a lot of your troubles and you found yourselves soon laughing and groaning as you passed awful experiences back and forth. Undyne was much more friendly once she realized you shared a connection with her girlfriend, which was a plus. It was... Nice. A wonderful way to spend a handful of hours on an otherwise empty, boring day.

It almost felt...

like home. 

It reminded you of things before, when you and Charles would 'sneak out' and spend the day tagging along with his friends... 

Except you didn't have an underlying bad feeling about these people. 

You were laughing with Alphys after retelling an awful high school experience when you had accidentally tipped over a bookshelf while trying to get 'a friend' to be more quiet when you noticed Frisk slip out of their seat and trot over to G, waving him close. They were an oddly adorable combo, Casanova chuckling along with a small, cute child as they signed and laughed along with him. Frisk signed something to him, then noticed you watching and pointed it out to G, who glanced at you with a small grin on his face before turning back to the child patting his sleeve.

You chuckled, turning back to Alphys as she began to recount the time she had tripped while trying to present an important thing to an important someone she was trying to impress, wincing in all the right places. 

"Oh my gosh, that must have been terrible!" You laughed, pressing a hand to your face.

"I-it was!" Alphys looked flustered just remembering it, but she, too, was laughing loudly. It was so wonderful, talking to someone you relate to so easily.

You blinked and glanced over when someone poked your arm, and you pushed out your seat a little to look down at Frisk. They beamed up at you, clutching a colorful pen and piece of paper. A second later, you blinked in surprise as they hopped into your lap before planting the paper on the table and scribbling something down. You smiled in amusement, leaning over their shoulder. 

'Hi!' 

You chuckled. "Hello to you, too."

'I thought this would be easier'

"Sorry, I don't know ASL very well..."

'It's okay!!' 

You chuckled, smiling at the kid as they scribbled out these little notes to you. They sure were very charismatic, you had to give them that. They had won you over before you could think about it, though your love of children may have had something to do with that. 

'So you and G aren't dating?'

You laughed. "Nope. Sorry to disappoint." You smiled, feeling accomplished when they laughed at your joke. 

'Thanks for being his friend'

You blinked, then nudged them gently with your elbow. "Not a problem! I enjoy every second of it." It made you smile when they smiled, clearly happy for that. This kid had to be the best thing ever.

 

G chuckled at Toriel's pun, leaning over the table as he let his bones relax. It was a nice feeling, finally being able to sit down and talk with his friends as he had before. Certainly soothing on tense, aching bones. He chuckled inwardly at his own play on words. 

Suddenly, Toriel lightly nudged his elbow, then discreetly pointed when he glanced up. He raised an eyebrow, then glanced over in your direction. 

Frisk was perched in your lap, giggling as you doodled something on the paper, then passed them the pen. They added something, then passed the pen back to you. You added, and the process repeated. You were smiling warmly as you watched the kid doodle what looked like one of their friends from the underground. Your expression brightened with interest when they began to label it off to one side, though G couldn't make out the words from where he was. It looked like you had been at it for a while, passing doodles and notes back and forth. 

He grinned, feeling very satisfied and very... happy at the sight. To see you getting along with the kid so well... He couldn't put it into words, but it made him breath a quiet, content sigh. 

He glanced up again when he heard Toriel's soft, muffled chuckle. She was eyeing him carefully, something knowing in her gaze. He raised an eyebrow at her, but she simply smiled slightly broader and went back to cracking jokes. 

He glanced sideways at you again when you laughed, a soft, stupid smile not quite leaving his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this fic, Papyrus isn't here, in case you didn't already figure that out. :P 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this fluffy chapter!! I kind of wanted to save it for later, but at the same time I didn't want to post next chapter yet, since it's supposed to show a nice leap in G and reader's friendship... If it's full of typos, please forgive me, I was eager to get it out and merely skimmed it after the initial draft was done... ^^;
> 
> Still taking prompts and things of the sort!!


	10. Best friends do stupid things together

"What's your favorite season?"

"'d have to say winter. yours?"

"Fall!"

"no wonder you're so smiley."

You frowned playfully, looking away as G chuckled. It was a wonderfully chilled evening as you headed for the beach, the sky already turning a lovely shade of lavender overhead. Piper sniffed a leaf as she passed it, dabbing it with her tongue before deciding it wasn't worth her interest. You hopped carefully over a crack, feeling rather giddy when your phone went off in your pocket. You caught G's eye as you pulled it out and you grinned brightly when you saw who the message was from.

"Alphys gave me her number after that lunch we spent together, and Undyne kind of almost broke my phone putting her number in, and we've been chatting a little bit ever since. We've been trying to make plans to meet up somewhere." You hummed as you typed a quick response, then stuck your phone back in your pocket. 

"i figured you'd get along." He chuckled, sliding a glance in your direction, looking faintly amused. 

"Birds of a feather, my friend." 

You kicked a small puff of sand when the beach appeared beneath your feet, Piper shooting you a not very appreciative glance as she swerved to avoid getting sand stuck in her coat. The water was a lovely shade of indigo, tipped with frothy black waves. You smiled at the sight as you headed for the usual short dock that used to be for shallow water boats, eventually perching on the very end with G sitting beside you, legs dangling above the water.

For a while, you sat in companionable silence, the water turning peachy orange and lovely mauve where the sun touched it. Piper yawned, pleased, and gingerly lied beside you, legs stretched out in front of her.

"Feels nice out tonight, doesn't it?" You hummed, swinging your feet lightly. The water slapped against the posts keeping the rickety dock up.

"mm-hm." G tilted his head up, and you followed his gaze, watching a scuff of clouds float leisurely through the air, tinted a shadowy blue against the darker background. 

"I always loved the way the water looked at this time of year. So... Clean cut, but varied. So deep and dark, with bright colors on the surface." You laughed, watching the water roll gently in and out beneath your beat up sneakers. "I used to want so badly to just jump in and swim for hours..." 

You smiled wistfully, then blinked and looked up as G pushed himself up beside you. You raised your eyebrows in confusion when he extended a hand to you, but hesitantly allowed him to pull you to your feet. 

"then let's do it." He was grinning, eyes very bright and yellow in the half-light. 

"Do... what?" 

He laughed, shrugging his coat off. "swim. what else?"

"What?!" You found yourself laughing in shock, Piper's leash slack in your hand. "But... It's so dark out!"

"so?" 

"It's bound to be freezing!"

"come on."

"I don't even- I don't even have a towel, or-!" You were laughing, a wonderful, exhilarated and breathless laugh. As much as the smart part of you was saying not to, you felt an excited thrill at the idea of jumping into that cold, black, beautiful water.

"things like this are better without planning ahead." G was grinning, broadly, not looking quite so smirk-like as it usually did.

"I- we don't even-!" You laughing dwindled to chuckling as you shook your head, even as you were aware of yourself toeing your shoes off. 

"c'mon, live a little." 

You groaned, but dropped Piper's leash and pulled your jacket off, which was quickly followed by your socks and your sweater and your phone. That left you in your plain, white t-shirt and old, worn jeans, and before you could think about anymore, you were leaping the two short steps to the end of the dock and pushing off the end, hitting the water with a breathless 'woohoo!' and a loud splash. As you quickly pushed yourself back toward the surface, a splash muffled by the water in your ears let you know G had followed you. 

You surfaced, taking a wonderful breath full of the cool, crisp air, loving the alive thrill it filled you with. Just as quickly the cold shock hit you, and you struggled to keep yourself afloat, breathing out an awkward, silent laugh.

"Oh my god, it's cold!"

"sure does make you feel awake, huh?" 

G was floating with much more ease than you were, shit eating grin on his face when you made a face at him. With a wink, he sank quickly beneath the water, and you tried to follow his ghostly shape through the water as he nearly disappeared. 

You shrieked when he surged up below you, catching you on his shoulders. You quickly wound your arms around his neck, giggling and squealing like a schoolgirl. You screamed bloody murder when he suddenly fell sideways, dragging you back into the water with him. You resurfaced a moment later, sputtering out a salty mouthful of water and laughing all at once.

"Y-you jerk!"

"i honestly don't know how you weren't expecting that." 

You slapped a small wave towards him half heartedly, then duck to the side when he retaliated with a much larger one. 

Piper paced back and forth at the front of the pier, snorting indecisively, for a minute. She peered at you, bobbing in the water, then took a few steps backwards. You blinked in surprise when she came racing back, leaping off the end of the dock and landing beside you with an enormous splash. She resurfaced an instant later, snorting out a nose full of salt water.

"Piper!" You laughed as she swam a circle around you, fur sleeked to her sides as she pumped her long, suddenly powerful legs. "Aha! She came to my rescue! Attack! Go for the throat!" 

When you gestured to G, she paddled closer and promptly sneezed on him, making you laugh. You carefully unclipped her leash a moment later, hurling it back on the dock with a move that made you go beneath the water for a moment. When you looked up again, Piper was chasing G in a rugged circle. 

The water's chill suddenly felt like a warm buzz against your skin as you launched yourself after them with choppy strokes of your arms, laughing when Piper tried to climb atop of G's shoulders, ducking beneath the water when G tried to get back at you by sending a large ripple of water your way.

You have no idea how long you spent in the water, swimming with far more effort than you probably should have, shrieking when things touched your legs, laughing at G's suddenly shocked and slightly panicked expression when you told him some fabricated story about a shark attack. Eventually, when it was nearly too much effort to keep your head above the water, you paddled over to the strip of beach beside the dock and struggled up onto the sand, G and Piper right behind you. You collapsed onto the sand, rubbing your arms as the chill set in again and G grabbed the things from the end of the dock.

"Br-rr-rrr." You chuckled, teeth chattering as he sat heavily beside you. You tried to wring out your shirt as your hands shook lightly. "W-w-well, th-that was f-f-fun while it l-lasted." 

"sorry. might not have thought that through." G laughed, though his smiled looked apologetic as he draped his coat over your shoulders. You found yourself drawing it closer around you despite yourself. The rim was nice and soft and you nuzzled subconsciously into it. 

"N-no. That was the most fun I've had in y-years. T-thank you." You gave him a smile, then ducked to the side as Piper shook herself furiously, water flying in all directions, before she lowered herself to the sand, panting contentedly. 

You sat there for a while, clothes becoming sticky and cold and uncomfortable in the still, evening air. Eventually, you got up, reattached Piper's leash, scooped up your phone, your sweater and your coat, stuffing the socks into your pockets and loosely fitting your feet into your sneakers. You offered to give G his coat (which he declined and insisted you keep on for a bit longer), then headed for your apartment, feeling oddly carefree and light on your feet.

"Seriously though, that was a blast! I can't swim to save my life, though I suppose it's kind of unfair, considering having nothing to weigh you down must make it easier, mister bones."

"mister bones? is that my new nickname or something?"

"I don't know. Maybe. I'll have to try it a few more times to see how I feel about it."

"keep me posted." 

"Sure thing, mister bones."

You were laughing again as you stopped outside your apartment building some time later, trying to catch your breath as you glanced up, suddenly realizing where you were. You smiled at G, slipping his coat off and passing it back to him. You paused, contemplating him a moment. 

"Would you... Would you like to come inside?" You gestured at the building with a thumb, trying your best to give a welcoming smile. He blinked in what looked like surprised, then smiled crookedly.

"sure."

Your trio walked into the building and toward the elevator, Piper looking oddly content for still being rather damp. You smiled at G, nudging him with your elbow.

"You a video game person?"

"dunno. never really had much interest in trying anything out." 

"Would you like to find out? I've got a few things you might like..."

 

"okay, so... what is this, exactly?"

"It's an open sandbox kind of game. There's no real objective; you kind of just can do whatever you want, whether it be build anything or explore or manipulate the landscape or... Basically, you can do whatever you want. Here, I'll open up a game where we have unlimited resources."

You gave him a quick rundown on the controls, then gave him free rein of the world. Your hair was damp on the back of your neck, a fresh pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt warm against your skin. You and G were sharing one of your enormous throw blankets, Piper sprawled content and dry at your feet. You had taken a record-breakingly quick shower after giving G a towel and a spare shirt and old sweatpants that used to belong to Charles or your dad had left after he moved. A bowl of popcorn sat on the sofa between you, and this stupid, dingy apartment suddenly felt a lot more like home.

"huh. the visuals are... weird."

You laughed. "I know. It's used to its advantage, though, I promise."

"alright, if you say so. so... give me a rundown on the world, again? woah, that's a lot of... you called them resources?"

"Yeah, I know. It seems overwhelming at first, but it's pretty cool once you get used to it. In the world, it's an ever expanding plane, so there's no end point where you have to stop, which is pretty cool. There's villages with humans that you can raid, animals on all kinds of biomes, caves to explore where you can find precious minerals... It's all up to you how to spend your time, too!"

"so... you could literally just blow things up for fun?"

"Yeah, that's what a lot of people do, actually!"

He snorted out a laugh, twiddling the controller in his hands as you ran in circles around him. You gave him a run down on the materials, the animals (which all kind of weirded him out a bit), and weapons and tools, skimming over things here and there. 

"so... what's stopping us from just doing whatever we want?"

"Well, nothing right now. But if we were in the other mode, when night falls is when the enemies come out to play."

"enemies?"

"Things like giant spiders, zombies-"

"whoa, what is that?"

You blinked, twiddling with the controller until you found where G was, at the edge of a dark cave winding down into the earth. You stared at the screen for a moment before a feeling of 'this might not have been my best idea' came crawling up your spine, making things suddenly tense and awkward.

"That's, um... That's a skeleton."

"a skeleton."

"Y-yeah. It's, uh, another enemy monster."

"enemy monster."

Sweat trickled down the back of your neck. "A-aha, well... I mean... It is... kind of odd, huh? I-I guess we... Humans, I mean... We... Uh..." 

You coughed, avoiding looking at him, though it looked like he was frowning intently at the screen. You leaned forward, quietly pushing a button on the machine. 

"Let's, uh, play something else..." You fingered through a few of your games, then paused, smiling. "Hey, you're into sciencey things, right?"

"guess you could say that."

"Well, I think you'll like this one. It has a collaboration mode, but I think you might like the story mode." You slid the disc in, then sat up beside him, putting your controller off to the side. "This is actually the second game, but it kind of fills you in on what happened last game... Kind of."

"give me a briefing."

 

"... So, in a way, she's kind of like you guys. She just wants to see the sunlight and be free again." 

"okay. so... what's keeping her from doing that? if the big bad from the last game has already been defeated."

You chuckled, a knowing grin spreading across your face. "You'll see. Go ahead and start at any time." He shot you a skeptical look, but all you did was grin back at him.

 

A few hours or so later, and you waited, sniggering under your breath in anticipation. G leaned back, watching the screen with an almost satisfied look on his face.

"well, that's wasn't that hard. i kind of expected it to be longer." 

You rolled your eyes, but couldn't quite keep the grin off your face. 

"So... Did you like our friend? Look how far we've all come!" 

He seemed to ponder it, then nodded. "yeah. sure, he's dumber than a box of rocks, but he's funny, at least. and, yeah, look how far we've taken 'im! that's something."

"Uh-huh."

You stifled a snicker, trying not to look too suspicious. Your snickering intensified when G's expression went from satisfied to surprise, then to disbelief. 

A minute later, and he completely lost it.

"that bastard! we helped him get there and he just flips his shit last minute?! we got you there, you son of a bitch! that stupid bastard, here i thought i was his friend! son of a robot bitch!"

You laughed, rolling sideways off the arm of the sofa as you wheezed. Soon you were gasping for breath, though it didn't help when G turned to you, still looking utterly betrayed. You had the feeling he was losing it so badly was because it was nearly four in the morning and you hadn't slept a wink and honestly, you were pretty sure the only reason you found it so downright hilarious was for the same reasons.

"you played me like a fool!"

"Did I?"

"you had me thinking-!" He growled, scowling at the screen.

"Was pretty priceless, though. Look, the birds flying away with the thing!"

"not gonna be able to fly when i get my hands on him..."

You played until you simply couldn't stay awake anymore, falling asleep in awkward positions on your sofa, and, honestly, you never felt happier in your entire life. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, but, god damn, was it worth it.

Your back was going to hurt like hell when you woke up, though...

Plus it would be kind of awkward to wake up with a skeleton on your couch...

Still worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blatant Minecraft and Portal references because I like those games kill me
> 
> Sorry it took so long!! Wasn't really feeling it lately,, 
> 
> Anyway! I hope you enjoy this!! Still taking prompts and stuff!


	11. Morning, skeleshine

When you wake, it is to blinding light, the inability to feel your tongue, and your spine screaming in agony as you shift from your position. Also a killer headache and a raspy throat. 

Lovely. Your favorite.

You groaned as you rolled off the sofa, foot catching on something as you did. You look up, mind still not quite clear, and blink at the sight of a skeleton strewn starfish style across the other half of your sofa. You don't think G could have spread himself over the cushions more if he tried; one of his arms is thrown over the back of your couch, the other dangling off as one leg brushes the floor. He looks very... relaxed. Peaceful, maybe.

It takes until you spot the paused television and lone controller laying on the floor for you to remember exactly why there is a skeleton on your sofa and why you feel like a great big pile of garbage. You sigh, smiling despite yourself as you scratch at the tangled mess that is currently your hair. Piper comes trotting leisurely out of the kitchen and sniffs your elbow before sitting dismissively.

Well, okay. Let's see, what first... 

You stretched, wincing painfully as several of your joints strain and crack, then headed for the kitchen. You shuffled into the kitchen, pull down a bottle of pain killers from on top of the fridge, and, a moment later, have a pot of coffee brewing quietly in your old, beat up coffee maker. Okay, that's that.

Next, potty break.

After that, you checked your drier. The clothes you wore last night, alongside G's, are still warm when you pull them out. You hummed, taking a moment to appreciate the pleasant smell the of drier sheets you recently decided to try out, burying your nose in the fluff of G's coat. After a second, you gently placed his clothes on the back of the sofa as you passed. He grumbled, scrunching up in a closely huddled ball as the coffee hissed quietly in the kitchen. You raised an eyebrow at him, chuckling as you head for your bedroom.

When you stepped out again, dressed in soft, clean clothes, you're only somewhat surprised to see G sitting up, rubbing at his sockets with the heels of his hands.

"Morning, sleeping beauty." You realized, as you hear what sounds like you after twenty cigarettes come out of your mouth, that it hurt a bit to speak. Despite, you couldn't help but smile when G sent you a 'ha-ha, very funny' look. 

"mornin'. sorry for crashin' on your couch." He said, not sounding at all sorry, as he stretched, joints clicking softly as he does, then spotted his clothes sitting on the back of the sofa. 

You waved him off, leaning against the doorframe by the kitchen. "Don't worry about it." You had to turn your head away and cough softly into your elbow by the time you were done speaking. Note to self, pick up cough drops at some point. 

G gave you an odd look as he picked up his clothes and edged toward where the bathroom was. "is that how you always sound in the morning?"

You laughed weakly, shaking your head. "No. I must have caught something after swimming around in below-room-temperature water for so long. It'll go away in a few days, probably." 

He made a face, something like guilt flickering in his eyes. "sorry."

You waved a hand, pushing yourself off the wall. "Don't worry about it. I was aware it would happen when I did it. Hey, do you like coffee?"

"you kiddin'?"

"Alright. How do you like yours?"

"black."

"Oh. Well, then." You laughed. "I hope you don't mind vanilla, then. It's, uh, my favorite kind."

You stepped into the kitchen, pausing to contemplate your collection of mugs before picking the 'If this mug isn't empty, fuck off' one for G and a random one for yourself. You hummed quietly as you filled the mugs, topped yours off with creamer and sugar, then filled Piper's bowl at her prompting of picking up her and dropping it noisily on the floor. 

By the time you came out of the kitchen again, G was in his own clothes and was peering at something on your bookshelf. He glanced up when you came up at his shoulder, then muttered a thanks as he took the coffee. You wandered off toward the television to see exactly where you had left off before dozing off. 

"who's this?" You glanced up to see G had picked up an old photograph, crumpled and stained around the edges, one you remembered well. You smiled.

"That's Charles and my dad."

"huh. there are a lot of 'im." He put the photo back, propped up against the old fantasy books that technically weren't yours.

You shrugged, smiling fondly at some memory that played along the edge of your mind as you gently lowered your mug to the coffee table. "Even if he was just my cousin, Charles and I used to be pretty inseparable. He was..." You laughed to yourself. "He kind of had your job before you entered my life. Forced me out of shell, dragged me around and made me socialize even when I didn't want to. It was... fun, sometimes. Other times, I wasn't exactly happy with the arrangements. I mean... As much as I loved Charles, he could be rash at the best of times." You chuckled, shaking your head.

"so... where is he, then? if he took my place before i did, where did he go off to to leave his place in need of filling?"

"Oh. Well, he's not..." You sighed, absently picking up a book and sliding it into a free space amongst others that you had accumulated over time. "He passed away a few years ago."

"oh. ah... i'm sorry."

"It's... alright. It's been a while, but it's nice to think back every once in a while. He was kind of like... Everything I used to look forward to every day, if that makes sense? A light to help me wake up every morning. I used to look forward to all his shenanigans, just to see what we would get into next. It was... fun. He was practically my brother."

It was quiet for a moment. You froze from where you were leafing through a book, realizing exactly what had been tumbling out of your mouth. You swallowed, then forced a chuckle, sliding the book back into its slot between all the others.

"Sorry, I must have made you uncomfortable. Pretend... Pretend none of that ever happened."

"nah. its... you're cool. i can get where you're coming from. i, uh, understand."

You glanced up in surprise, hand resting on the lip of the shelf. G was peering intently at the cluster of photographs in a way that gave you the impression he wasn't really looking at them. Despite having no muscle, there was something tense about the way he was holding his shoulders. Something tugged deep inside your ribcage, and you smiled softly to yourself. After a moment, you stepped away from the bookshelf and sat on the couch, patting the spot beside you.

"Hey, do you wanna see the ending of the game? It looks like we're getting pretty close."

He glanced at you, looking faintly surprised. Then, his usual relaxed disposition returned and he chuckled under his breath, sitting down beside you and taking the controller from your hands. "sure."

"Want to get food somewhere afterwards? Or whenever. I have a lot of snack food here, but not, like, a lot of actual food, so if you're hungry, we'll have to go somewhere."

"sure. usual place?"

"Is Grillby's open in the afternoon?"

"as far as i know."

"By the way, Piper will have to go. She gets upset if she gets left out. The last time I left her behind I came back to see my apartment utterly trashed."

"can't argue with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is rushed and short and dumb but I wanted to do the morning afterwards otherwise it would have felt like a missed opportunity and would have haunted me forever,,,
> 
> Headcanon that G!Sans either sleeps totally spread out or curled up as tightly as possible. There is no inbetween. 
> 
> Still accepting prompts!! I'm sorry this chapter is so,, bad,, but don't fret!! I have a few actual ideas I can get to now that we're on best-friend/visiting each other's homes level!!


	12. Spaghet out of my store

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ft. My nerd OC because I like him sue me

"Is eating at each other's houses something that friends do?"

"i would assume."

"Don't use that tone with me, Mr. I-have-a-hundred-friends. I know you're aware of the fact that I am friendless, sans you. Oh, stop your giggling. What should I get anyway? I mean, if we are going to have dinner at my place." 

G hummed for a moment, then shrugged. 

"Oh, that's really helpful." 

You hit him playfully with your basket, making him chuckle again. You'd run into G at the store, and had started meandering about side by side. He'd absently brought up the idea of having homemade dinner together, and you had decided to jump on the idea, if hesitantly. It had been a while since you'd had a friend to do friend things with, so this seemed like a good start. 

"Well, I mean... Do you like Italian or pasta based dishes? Those are simple and easy." You glanced at the shelves as you walked down the pasta aisle, thumbing the end of your jacket. "They used to be the only thing Charles got from restaurants." You laughed lightly at the memory.

G glanced at the arrangement of boxes, and, after a pause, shrugged. "sure. i'm game."

"Neat!" You eyed the shelf a moment, then scooped up a box of angel hair and dropped it into your basket. "By the way, be prepared to see pumpkin flavored everything, what with it being fall."

"pumpkin flavored everything?"

"Well, mostly, like, sweeteners. Like creamer? Also deserts and stuff. I might have seen a pumpkin flavored burger once, though. It's kind of the theme. Of fall, I mean. With Thanksgiving and Halloween being close."

"hm."

"Actually, you might have experienced it already. Sorry. That must have seemed rude. How long have you been above ground?"

G shrugged, chuckling as nerves made your stomach squeeze into sudden, anxious knots. At least you hadn't offended him. "if i did, i didn't realize it. i'll keep an eye out for it this time."

"Right. Sorry."

"don't sweat it."

You went up and down the aisles in companionable quiet or made general small talk for a while. It was a weird feeling, suddenly having someone to talk to or even run into to begin with. Not a bad feeling! But... A different kind of feeling. One you hadn't had in a while. In fact, never had, now that you thought about it. Before, the people you could run into had all filled you with a rather uneasy feeling, nothing like G's sense of security...

"Oh! That's something you might could try. Pumpkin pies should be in stores already."

"pumpkin pies?"

"Yeah. They're not bad. Kinda just a cinnamon pie. Or at least that's how they normally taste to me. They should come already made, just stick it in the oven for a bit, and your house will smell like fall in no time."

"huh. what aisle were those on?"

"Oh, uh, they'd be in the freezer section. Probably under deserts."

"alright. be back in a minute." 

He casually strolled off, leaving you oddly alone suddenly. Well. Uh. You could wait. That wasn't too big of a deal. You tried to look like you were investigating the goods on the shelf directly in front of you, suddenly all too aware of all the people around you. 

The aisle certainly wasn't empty. There was a monster a few paces to your left- not an unfamiliar one, either. It was the spider monster from the beach and the craft fair, a toothpick balanced idly between his teeth as he read over the box of something you couldn't quite make out. Closer to you, though crowded around the opposite shelf, was a group of rowdy humans. They looked to be roughly college aged, and were being a lot louder than they needed to be.

"I wouldn't say I have arachnophobia, more just that spiders are seriously gross and I would never want to be within fifteen feet of one." One said, voice slightly raised. The group chuckled, a few shooting looks down the aisle. 

The spider monster didn't glance up, but his array of spider-like legs shifted slightly on the tiles. 

Suddenly, you felt both entirely uncomfortable and vaguely angry. The poor guy was just minding his own business. Why did those guys have to go out of their way to bother him? Couldn't they just mind their own business?

"What do you call a spider monster? Gross /and/ useless!"

The spider's eye shifted in their direction, then back down. The fire kindling in your gut flared brighter. Was no one else bothered by this...? ... Okay, to be fair, the aisle was relatively empty save for them, the spider, and yourself.

"Hey, what do you say if all the monsters ended up under the mountain again? 'About time'!" The group snickered and chuckled again. 

You straightened your shoulders and marched over to the gang, fully prepared to give them a lecture on manners and just how much more you preferred monsters over humans anyway. It took a moment for the leader to realize you were there. They turned, looking annoyed at being interrupted. You drew a breath to give them an earful of what was coming to them-

Only to be surprised by the sound of skin against skin and the sting of the back of your hand. You felt a flash of satisfaction when you spotted the shocked look on the persons face, closely coupled with a reddening mark on their cheekbone, only for it to quickly fade when they scowled and you realized exactly what you'd just done. Panic set in and you backed up a step, putting up your hands as they raised a fist.

They made to swing at you, but their arm was quickly caught by two. You hastily stepped away from the conflict, faintly surprised to see the monster they'd been insulting gripping the persons arm a tad tighter than was necessary. With one of his two spare arms, he removed the toothpick from between his teeth, seeming all too mellow about the situation.

"I wouldn't be doing that. Don't wanna make a scene, maybe? Hey, maybe I'm wrong. You seem the type to like the spotlight, no matter what kind."

The person scowled, jerking their hand away as if disgusted. The monster released it easily, lowering his hands. "The bitch is asking for it!"

"Hey, there's kids around here. Be a little more courteous?" When the person scowled deeper, the monster's smile quirked up the slightest, looking tense. "I'm no expert, but I figure you don't want to go getting into a fight with anyone who's got twice as many arms as you. I'd make your next choices carefully." 

You clutched at your hoodie and slowly backed further and further away, trying to stop the oncoming panic attack and failing. You startled harshly when you bumped into something, nearly falling over if not for the hand on your shoulder that caught you. You glanced up to find G studying the situation with a nearly unreadable look of unease on his features. 

The human swung, and the monster caught it. The human tried with the other hand, and, again, was caught. They snarled, pushing harshly against the arms holding them back. A trickle of sweat ran down the spider's face, and he grimaced as his spider-legs failed to find traction on the smooth tile, forcing him to slide back a few inches. Suddenly, he didn't look so calm. Tense lines were drawn across his features. He grabbed the person's arms with his free hands, forcing them to let up. He seemed startled when the person suddenly pulled one away, and you found yourself being steered away just as they made to swing again.

"c'mon." G muttered near your ear, pushing you gently but persistently down the aisle and around the corner. The last glimpse you caught of the scene was what looked like a manager, talking to a rather unhappy looking human and a rather placating monster. "he'll be fine."

"B-but he- it wasn't his fault, I-"

"he'll be fine. this is one of the only places known for not having favoritism to humans."

"But, G, I was the one... I... I smacked that guy in the face. I don't know why. They just... They kept making really mean jokes about that guy, and no one was doing anything it about or even saying anything, but I knew he was listening! I couldn't just let them... You know..."

G sighed. "pal. there's some battles worth fighting, and then there's wastes of time. let us decide which is which."

"I'm... sorry. I really don't know why I..." You ran your fingers through your hair, heart still pounding in your chest and guilt tearing ferociously at your insides like angry dog's teeth. G's hand was still on your shoulder, and it was soon joined by his other as he gave you a light shake, soon pulling you off the side somewhere.

"hey. chill. it's fine. no one got hurt. everything's fine."

"We don't know that! That jerk could've..." You ground the heels of your hands into your eyes, trying to stop the biting sting of tears. Now wasn't the time to cry. Don't make a scene. Don't make a scene. 

"hey. look at me." It took you a moment, but you hesitantly peeked out from behind your fingers at him. He looked oddly empathic. "deep breaths, alright? everything's gonna work out. now, c'mon. anything else you need before we check out?" 

You dropped your hands, then made a point to steady your breathing. You blinked hard, trying to remember where you were and why and what was going on. "Um. No. I... I think I'm alright. I think I've got everything."

"alright. good. come on, let's get out of here."

 

By the time you had stepped out of the building, most of your unease had passed. You were chuckling at something G had said, shifting your bags in your hands before turning to make for your apartment- only to come up short. 

Leaning against one wall, puffing on a cigarette far too often to be considered ordinary, was the four-armed spider monster from the store. A cigarette butt lay near his feet, and suddenly you wondered if he was smoking to calm his nerves. He opened his mouth, and a plume of smoke rose from behind his rather pointed teeth.

"Y-you!" You found your feet weighted to the spot, heart suddenly in your throat and a hundred dog's teeth buried in your gut. 

The monster startled, single eye lifting to meet your gaze before he pushed himself off the wall and stood up properly. He gave a half hearted wave. "Hey. Was hoping I would bump into you out here."

You could sense G close at your shoulder as your knuckles turned white around the bags in your hand. "I'm so sorry. I never meant for that guy to attack you like that. I'm really, really sorry. Is there anything I can...?"

He was shaking his head before you could even finish. "Don't worry about it. Felt like I had to say something to thank you for caring enough to stand up to, uh, that person. Sticking your neck out like that. Be more careful next time, eh? I know humans stick to humans, but, uh, I don't wanna think about what they would have done to you."

You bit your lip, feeling like a great big pile of garbage. "But they hurt you."

He lifted a hand, fingers grazing a purple mark creeping around one side of his eye. He seemed to wince slightly, then dropped his hand and shrugged. "Not a big deal. Can't even feel it." He waved again, one hand lowering to a pocket to pull out a pack of cigarettes. "Uh, thanks again. I'll be seeing you. Maybe. Take care of yourself." He lit one as he turned, legs moving rhythmically over the sidewalk as he walked away. Before you could say another word, he had drawn too far for you to call out to him.

Your fingers clutched the plastic bags yet tighter, the guilt still churning in your gut. You only loosened your grip when G's hand squeezed your shoulder again. "You monsters are all too nice for own good. I wanted to give him money, at least. Something."

G shrugged. "he probably got kicked out for disturbing the peace or something. he'll probably try again tomorrow. not too big of a deal."

"Agghhhhhhh!" You tried to rake your fingers through your hair again, feeling like a great big mountain of garbage. "I feel so bad! The last time I acted out like that was... years ago...." You quickly cut yourself off, shaking your head. "I just... want to go home."

"sure. spaghetti?"

"Yeah. I mean, I kinda feel like I might throw up a little bit, but sure. I can eat to cope."

"uh, gross."

"Rude."

G smirked when he drew a smile out of you again, giving you a hearty slap on the shoulder before steering you down the sidewalk. 

Monsters were pretty great, even if they were far too forgiving for your tastes.

Much better than certain humans, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry it's been so long. I'm sorry that this chapter is so lousy. I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing. I'm sorry for shamefully shoving my ocs into this,,, 
> 
> I wasn't sure what to write,,, So here you go I guess,, I apologize,,
> 
> So, uh,,, any suggestions??? Or ideas?? Or prompts?? Leave them,, in the comments I guess,,


	13. ones and zeros

It was drizzling lightly outside, just slightly chilly inside, and you were content.

If tired.

It was past midnight, yet here you were, lamp on so you had some warm light to organize your books by as you drew your bathrobe- still warm and fresh from the drier- closer around your shoulders. You were humming a rhythm that had no real direction, and Piper was dozing on the tussled sheets of your bed. For the first time in a long while, you had managed to push aside your guilt of treating yourself to little things like organizing your books well after you should have fallen asleep or sticking your robe in the drier for a few minutes just to get it cozy.

Your phone chimed lightly from its place on the charger and you smiled lightly to yourself. You'd been wondering if he was up to. You leaned over and grabbed it, unlocking it with a few taps of your fingers.

* heya

* you awake

\- Nope.

* oh

* well

\- I'm kidding.

* i know

\- What's up?

* just kinda

* listening to the rain

* thinkin

\- Sounds nice!

* eh

* hey

* uh

* do you think i 

* could you call me

You blinked at the screen, then smiled, sympathetically. One of those nights, huh? The kind where texting just doesn't cut it.

\- Sure, hold on.

A few taps later, and you lifted the phone to your shoulder and nestled it there as it rung. You dusted off a book with a simple puff, scattering particles everywhere. 

Rrrring. 

Rrring. 

Click.

"heya."

"To speak to a fellow insomniac, please press one." You spoke in an exaggerated monotone, despite the smile curling your lips. This kind of tired was warm and fuzzy and relaxing. Not at all like the draining kind of tired where your mind simply wouldn't turn off, despite your fatigue.

"ha." He didn't sound very amused.

"I was only kidding. I'm sorry if that sounded mean." You paused, shifting the phone slightly as you winced at your failed attempt at a joke. You really needed to check yourself. "I'm a weird kind of tired right now. I guess my brain to mouth filter is off. Sorry."

"nah, it's not you. it's... me." He sounded tired, but in an odd kind of way. Tired of someone, or something, or life, or maybe himself. It was a tone that you recognized in yourself, but sounded odd on him.

"Something the matter?"

"nah. what're you doing up?"

"The usual."

"lying in bed with the dog, then?"

"Well, okay, maybe not my usual. I'm reorganizing my bookshelf in my bathrobe, like I'm some kind of ancient scholar tending to his library." That got a huff of laughter out of him. "Piper's on the bed, watching over me like some kind of griffin the library is tribute to, making sure I don't mess up her books."

"is that something griffins do?"

"I don't know. It's been a while since I touched up on my mythology. Maybe? I picked the first mythological animal that came to mind. Griffins were regal, at least, so that works, right?" The phone slipped slightly, and you fumbled with it for a moment. "Hold on, let me put you on speaker." You lifted the phone away from your shoulder, tapped the screen, then lowered it to the bed beside Piper. She glanced at it scornfully, ears twitching when G spoke again. 

"if by regal you mean snobbish."

"That is my labsky you're talking about there, mister."

He huffed out a laugh again, falling quiet. Something rustled.

"So, what about you? What are you up to? Going on a late night ice cream run without me?"

A light scoff. "no. just... thinkin'."

"What about?"

"lotta things. the cosmos. life. my bro."

You blinked, glancing at the phone as if he could see your surprise. "You have a brother?"

"... yeah."

"You never told me that."

"never came up, i guess. ... i think you would've liked 'im." 

Realization, quickly coupled with empathy and sympathy. "Oh gosh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything."

"no, no, he's not... he's just not around at the moment."

"Oh!" Relief, coupled with doubt. "Oh. So like... He's traveling? Overseas or the like?"

"the like." 

"I see now. Sorry to jump to conclusions."

"nah. i made it sound that way."

You wanted to help, somehow. He sounded so... drained. "So... Did he just... up and leave without warning, or...? You sound... upset, I guess."

"not really. it's just..." A long pause, a sigh. "i don't know when i'm gonna see him again. that's all."

"I see. That must be rough." 

"yeah."

You moved on from that subject, hoping to get his mind off it. You talked for a while, you eventually settling on the bed, Piper shifting to put her head on the edge of the pillow like the human she thought she was. 

"... I don't know, the whole 'universe is a simulation' thing always sounded kind crazy to me, but, y'know, DNA is basically just the code to make a living being, so I guess it's not /too/ far out there?"

"things like that always kinda disturbed me. imagine you got to see the universe at its finest level, and it was just ones and zeroes."

You hummed, lazily stroking the top of Piper's head. She placed her chin on your chest, breathing a sigh as you smiled. "I don't know. I might be confused or upset at first, but maybe I'd find myself being... reassured of my own existence in a weird way? Kind of like how if the multiverse theory is real, then there's a universe in which it isn't. And if paradoxes don't apply to the multiverse theory, there's a universe in which they do. Everything kind of comes around full circle, y'know? Like in a self sustaining program. I'm getting off track. Somehow I thought that was going to be related somehow. ... I just said somehow twice in the same sentence."

"... what's the multiverse theory?"

"You've never heard of it? I thought you'd be all over stuff like that." You chuckled lightly, eyelids drooping. "Basically, every possible universe that could exist? Does exist."

"... what?"

"Like, every morning, you have the choice to eat a bagel or not eat at all. What do you do?"

"eat a bagel...?"

"Then there's a universe in which you chose not to eat at all and go about the day hungry until lunch, but everything else is the same. Or there's a universe where I don't have a freckle on my hand, and there's a universe where I do, but everything else is exactly the same. There's a universe where I don't exist, but everything else stays the same. There's a universe where Piper doesn't exist, so on and so on. I could go on forever, really."

"huh."

"Bit of a mind twister, huh? It took me a while to wrap my brain around that, but now I kind of like the idea. Like to wonder what it would be like in a world where everyone swaps personalities with someone close to them or something. Imagine if I had your personality. How weird would that be?" You laughed, bemused. G's chuckle filtered through the speakers.

"yeah, that'd be pretty weird, alright."

"I'm not sure if that's an insult or not." Another chuckle from G. "I'm nearly falling 'sleep here, cut me some slack."

"alright, same here. thanks, for talking with me. 'preciate it."

"No problem. Goodnight."

"oh, hey, wait."

"Yeah?" You yawned out the word.

"y'know my friends i introduced you to?"

"'Course. I mean, I'd like to think Alphys and Undyne are also /my/ friends now, considering we had a reading circle thing going for a while. Reminds me, we need to schedule another one..."

"well, they're holding a big party for our first thanksgiving celebrated aboveground. was wondering if you'd wanna join."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not writing in a while. Don't expect a lot of quick updates in the future, especially with school coming up... Ech.
> 
> Anyway!! Have this weird!! Filler!! Chapter??? Coming soon- Thanskgiving special.
> 
> If you have any questions, comments, or concerns!! (Or prompts and ideas,,) Leave them!! In the comments!!! If you want,,


	14. Author's Note ;;;;;;0

Okay so like

School is a thing

Basically what I'm trying to say is my priorities, for the time being, might not line up with me updating all of my fics in a timely manner? I have a lot to worry about rn and it's stressing me out and also I am Perpetually Tired so uh that also,, """complicates""" things,,, Eventually, things will relax a bit and I'll probably pick up a bit????? 

Basically pls be patient with me I'll update,,., eventually,,,,

Anyway I love you guys and I hope you're having a good day !!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> but seriously ily guys


	15. HeartBeat

When G had told you he would pick you up to take you to the thanksgiving party, you hadn't been quite sure what he meant, as you always walked to your destinations before.

Well, now you knew.

You gaped, appalled, at G as he sat with that smug ass grin on his face, 'apparently' waiting for you to hop aboard the bike with zero hesitation. It was sleek and intimidating in the fading light of the sun, and you found your stomach coiling in tighter, even more nervous knots at the sight.

"You- you didn't tell me you had a motorcycle?"

"didn't i?" Oh, he sure was satisfied with himself.

You fidgeted, clutching Piper's leash tighter as she strained forward, trying to sniff the tires. "G, I- I've never written a motorcycle before." You bit your lip, afraid without much reason.

He chuckled, lifting a helmet off one of the handles and extending it expectantly. "first time for everything."

Your free hand balled in your hoodie, and the knots reached an all time record for how uncomfortable they could feel in your gut. "B-but, what- what about Piper?"

Apparently seeing the anxiety written all over your face, G's grin softened as he sighed, lifting himself off the bike with an oddly graceful movement. "that's what the harness is for. it'll be fine, i've driven it hundreds of times and i'm still in one piece. i'll be extra careful. just give it a shot."

His hand ghosted over yours as he worked the leash from your hand, and, after a moment of hesitance, you let it slip through your fingers and into his. You watched, restlessly tugging on the strings of your hoodie, as he guided Piper around the bike in a slow circle, apparently letting her get used to the idea. You'd seen people ride motorcycles before- many, many times, really- and had even been offered a ride before, but had always declined, feeling unsafe in the open air going God knows how fast. But then... You hadn't exactly trusted those individuals who offered as you trusted G, had you?

After a minute, Piper finished sniffing her way around it and trotted back to you, nose in the air. With a puff, G snaked his arms beneath her and lifted her off the ground, stepping to the back of the motorcycle. She didn't look too happy about it as he sat her in a large basket of sorts and worked a thick leather harness over and under her shoulders and legs, but didn't do much more than refuse to move her head when he clicked at her softly. He shook his head, chuckling, several times, then tightened the buckles with a few small tugs and turned back to you, waving you over.

You edged closer. Well, it certainly looked like Piper was fairly secure; there was no clear way for her get loose of the harness, and so long as it was on her, no clear way for her to leap off the bike, either. She hadn't panicked, either, and was sitting quietly and complacently in place, sniffing at the leather with a bored expression.

G nudged you softly with his elbow. "well?"

You swallowed, fingers tangled in the strings of your hoodie. You gingerly worked them free with a few shakes. "Are you... Are you sure it's safe?"

Instead of answering, G chuckled and reached over, plucking up the helmet and extending it again. You lifted a hand to take it, then hesitated.

"hey, if you really don't want to, we can go on foot." You glanced up at him in surprise, hand hovering near his. He looked sympathetic. "it's a long way and i figured it would be fun to take you for a spin, but it's not the end of the world if you don't want to."

Strengthened by the rush of appreciation that surged through your chest, you swallowed again and shook your head, taking the helmet in your hands. "No, it's okay. It's just not something I've done before, and I've heard it can be dangerous..."

He smiled, looking pleasantly surprised. "one new thing everyday, right?"

You laughed breathlessly, slightly caught off guard. It had been a while since he'd brought that up. "Right."

You slid the helmet over your head and clicked the buckles into place, and suddenly felt worried it would ruin your hair. You shook the thought off, taking a deep breath. When you glanced up again, G had affixed a different helmet to his own skull and was swinging a leg up and over the bike. You felt another rush of anxiety as he revved the motor into life, but crushed it and took a small step forward, suddenly unsure how to get on.

G flashed you a smirk from behind his visor, patting the spot behind him invitingly. You edged forward, then awkwardly slid into the spot. You raised your arms, instinctively wanting to grip him around the waist as tightly as possible, hesitated, then put your hands on his shoulders. You felt rather than heard him chuckle, and flinched when you started moving.

The air was cool and fresh against your skin as he edged onto the street, then into the traffic. The motor hummed beneath you, and you tried not to watch the pavement going past beneath your feet and instead cast a glance over your shoulder. Piper had lifted her head and was sniffing the air curiously as you rolled, slowly at first, down the road. Okay. So far, so good.

You turned to face forward again as G stopped at a red light, toes curling as you gripped his jacket tighter. Cars whooshed past in front of you, the wind of them pulling at your hoodie and making you feel even more exposed. You counted slowly in your head as you waited for the light to turn once again. One Mississippi... Two Mississippi... Three Mississippi... Four Missi-

With a sharp hum and a lurch, you were suddenly going much faster than before. With a yelp, you threw cautions to the wind and flung your arms around G's ribs, tightly pulling yourself flat against his back as he leaned forward ever so slightly. You pushed your face into his shoulder, heart hammering loudly in your chest, and you felt his bones rattle softly as he chuckled again.

You clung tight to him as the wind whipped past you, tugging at your jacket and making your stomach clench fearfully. You squeaked when he rounded a corner and relaxed a bit as he slowed the slightest, then clenched your eyes shut as he sped up again, weaving through traffic with practiced ease. The motor hummed beneath you, and after a while you were pretty sure your butt had gone numb.

When you stopped at another light, you took a moment to catch your breath. G was staring intently ahead, and you jumped when something nudged your back. You twisted to see Piper peering back at you, sniffing the air intently. You were tempted to give her a quick scratch, but then you were moving again and you had buried your face into G's jacket again.

You were getting stiff and sore from staying so still for so long when G's voice interrupted your silent contemplation on your life choices.

"we're here."

You peeled your arms from around G's middle, glancing around blearily. You were parked outside a bustling restaurant, music and chatter filtering through the glowing windows into the cool, yellowing evening. You winced as you hitched your legs to one side of the bike, unsteadily getting to your feet as G strode to the back and began to unbuckle Piper.

You hesitated, suddenly nervous, as you stared at the warm, welcoming building, helmet in your hands. "I thought you said we were going somewhere dog-friendly?"

"yep." G came up beside you, exchanging the helmet for Piper's leash. Piper shook herself vigorously, smacking her lips and yawning.

"Normally restaurants don't..."

"yeah, i know, it took a lotta searching to find a place that didn't have a problem with LD and GD and the rest of the pack. we've reserved the whole place. it should be fine." He put a hand between your shoulders and began to guide you to the doors. Just before them, you stopped again and he glanced at you, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"It... sure looks like a lot of monsters are here, huh?" Your throat felt dry. You hadn't thought to ask just how many...

"hey, you'll be fine. they like new folks. if you're that worried, you can stick by me." He flashed you a reassuring smirk, then gave you a firm push and opened the door, propping it with a foot. You hesitated, then ducked through, Piper close at your knees.

The air vibrated with noise, and all at once you felt overstimulated. The place was teeming with monsters, a cluster at the bar, several more at each of the tables, a dozen or more in a free space that must have been a dance floor of sorts, a couple dozen just standing around. All of them were grinning and shaking hands and laughing and talking and shouting along to the heavy music, and it was suddenly very daunting, standing there as the only human you could see, and you felt very small.

"Hey! If it isn't my favorite book-loving punk!"

You jumped at Undyne's voice, peeling off your jacket and folding it uncertainly in your arms. Piper was still snug against your legs as Undyne approached, and you thought you felt her growl softly when Undyne stuck a hand in your face. You smiled, relieved to see a familiar face, and put your hand in her webbed one. She shook it but briefly before her attention was directed her to your canine companion.

"Whoa! Is this really the dog you talked about?! Look at those eyes!" The boisterous fish monster knelt in front of Piper with a wide, toothy grin. Piper appeared aloof, though you noticed her sniff disdainfully as Undyne ruffled the fur between her ears.

"Uh, yes, this is Piper. Sorry, she's not very friendly with new people." You touched Piper's back with your fingertips, and she cast you a questioning look.

"W-wow! Sh-she almost looks s-scary from across the r-room..." Alphys sheepishly shuffled up beside Undyne, wringing her hands as she eyed Piper with more than some curiosity. Your reassuring smile came more easily now. Some of the tension eased from your shoulders.

"She can look pretty intense sometimes, but it's all show! Just give her a pat. Even if she doesn't look it, she soaks up attention like a sponge." Piper sniffed Alphys' sweaty hand as she extended it, then turned her head away, silently giving Alphys the go ahead.

"S-such nice fur..." Alphys smiled, and her petting grew more and more confident as Undyne and G shared a quick handshake, striking up some conversation you couldn't hear over the thumping music.

Your small group eventually made their way to the bar, and you found yourself feeling a lot better about things now that you were surrounded by people you knew. Soon, you were laughing along to something Alphys had said, wondering if it would be socially acceptable to take a seat at the bar. At one point, G nudged you, pointing toward the dance floor. A robot, who you could only assume was Alphys' friend Mettaton, and Frisk were surrounded by a ring of onlooking monsters. The crowd cheered as Frisk and Mettaton simultaneously posed dramatically.

"So, what can I get you?"

A harassed-looking but smiling bartender appeared on the other side of the bar, wiping down and filling glasses with graceful expertise. Undyne took a deep, excited breath, then sighed in disappointment when Alphys nudged her sharply, muttering something about water with no ice. You noticed G's gaze flicker over a row of liquor bottles and, with a mock glare, slapped his shoulder lightly.

"Don't even think about it! I don't know how to drive a bike, so you're gonna have to be my ride home and I am not about to let you do it under the influence."

G snickered, feigning disappointment. "buzz kill."

"Buzzed driving is drunk driving, mister."

Alphys giggled into her hands, sliding onto a bar stool. Piper, apparently sensing that you weren't going anywhere any time soon, sat close to your feet, staring out at the crowd like some kind of vigil. Her ears twitched when you gave her a soothing pat, but she didn't waver from her post. Undyne huffed with laughter, and you glanced up curiously.

"Well, it's easy to see who she belongs to! You didn't tell me she was your personal bodyguard!"

You blinked in surprise, then laughed. "She's not! I'm telling you, she wouldn't hurt a fly. She just likes watching people."

"Suuure, if you say so." Undyne shook her head, ponytail swaying with the movement.

Before you could respond, a small hand tugged at your turtlenecks sleeve, and you glanced down in surprise. Frisk grinned brightly at you, then spun in a circle to show off their headband, colorful 'turkey' feathers frilled about their head, and matching sweater.

"Hello, Frisk! It's good to see you again!"

They clapped, apparently pleased, as Toriel came up behind them, wearing a dress swathed in fall colors. The queen looked especially soft in the faint, yellow lights, and almost seemed to glow in her yellow-amber-red dress. You ducked your head at her, suddenly sheepish.

"Hello, dear! I'm so glad you could make it. Frisk was worried they would be the only human here." Toriel's hand smoothed Frisk's ruffled hair, and she smiled as they ducked away. Frisk grasped your free hand in theirs, dancing from one foot to the next as if to agree with Toriel's words and show just how excited they were that you were there. You ducked into your turtleneck, abashed.

"I'm glad I was invited, it's been so long since I got the chance to do something on Thanksgiving... I'm so happy to be here, really, thank you." Your cheeks burned, but you tried to give the queen a smile. She smiled softly, and gave your shoulder a small pat.

"Don't fret, dear, we're all here to be grateful, are we not?" She smiled, then glanced up. "Oh. Excuse me, it seems Asgore wishes to speak with me..."

Toriel strode away, but Frisk remained. They reached a hand toward Piper, paused, then glanced up at you. You nodded at them encouragingly.

"Don't worry, she doesn't bite!"

They smiled, then gave Piper a calm, slow pat. Piper sniffed their arm briefly, then turned back to staring around the room intently. Frisk giggled, though you thought they looked somewhat disappointed at they turned away from the labsky.

"Oh, Alphys, have you been enjoying that book I gave you? I've been meaning to ask for a while, but writing has kept me a bit busy..."

"O-oh, it's great! I really liked the part where they were standing at the edge of the woods, and you could just tell that the hero's journey was about to begin! And then the first big fight..."

You smiled, nodding along to Alphys' points and giving vague hints about whether her assumptions were correct and laughing at her obvious impatience with the story while Undyne occasionally barked out a comment and G spoke idly with someone a few stools away.

During lulls in conversation, you took the opportunity to look around the room. From here, the music wasn't too loud, and surrounded by friends, you felt more at ease than you would have been otherwise. The air was warm and heavy with monsters, and you ducked your head a bit as a small, skittish looking winged creature fluttered past your head. A cluster of dogs were chatting and hugging and sniffing one another around a table covered in cards, one particular, blurry one letting out a happy-sounding, low howl every so often as goo oozed from a large, dark hole in its face. A duo of large, burly monsters were walking around and about hand in hand, greeting other large, burly monsters, one of whom looked rather groggy. A cluster of similar looking, bird-like monsters with unique crests in the shape of ice shards were chatting with a strange deer-like monster. A family of rabbit folk were apparently recapping their adventures since they'd seen one another whilst a cat and gator danced to some song with a heavy beat and a small, pale ghost hovered beside the speakers with a table in front of them. The air hummed with friendliness.

You took a breath to ask Alphys a follow up question when something snagged your sleeve. You blinked, glancing down to Frisk's gaze. They smiled, cheeks round and faintly red in the warmth of the building, and grabbed your sleeve, tugging on it insistently.

"What is it? Where do you want me to go?"

You stood hesitantly, nervous again. Frisk grinned brightly, pointing at the dance floor as another song pulsed through the air. You laughed, shaking your head and edging back into your seat.

"No, no, I don't dance."

Frisk pouted, tugging on your sleeve again. Still, you did not budge.

"Let me put it this way, I can't dance. I'd just embarrass myself and you! Sorry!"

You laughed good naturedly, giving the kid a small pat. They pouted once more, then raced over and grabbed Undyne's hand instead. When the large fish monster glanced over, they signed something you couldn't catch, and Undyne grinned wolfishly.

"Oh, you think I can't dance, huh?! Is that a challenge?! I'll show you, punk! Come on!"

Undyne scooped Frisk up in one arm, charging through the crowd like a bull. Alphys laughed quietly, putting a hand to her forehead and rolling her eyes at you jokingly. You giggled right back, giving her a mock reassuring pat as if to say 'I'm sorry you have to put up with that.'

"so, havin' a good time so far or still white as a sheet?"

You jumped when G's hand fell on your shoulder, then laughed breathlessly, putting a hand in your chest.

"You startled me!" He chuckled, hand slipping away from your shoulder as he twiddled a toothpick between his teeth. Where had he gotten that? "Yes, I'm- I'm actually doing pretty good! Sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch, y'know? You guys are all just... One big family."

The smile he gave you was less smirk than usual, and he swept a glance around the place before meeting your gaze again. That single yellow eye looked warm and almost fond as he studied your face, but it may have just been the light.

"yeah. how's it feel to be a part of it?"

You did a small spit take, giving him a small, uncertain but bemused smile. "Are you kidding? I'm more like that one weirdo that just kind of shows up because they're the cousins friend or something. I'm hardly a part of... all of this." You waved a hand at the room, and Piper glanced at you questioningly.

"I-I'd like to consider you one of us, t-that is, i-if you want to be..." Alphys smiled sheepishly when you looked up, your surprised gaze reflected in her smudged glasses.

"Oh."

"see?" G ruffled your hair, making you squeak and duck into the folds of your turtleneck. "no buts, either. no take backs." That smile was certainly a smirk now, and there was a teasing glint in his sockets. Your cheeks burned and you dodged his gaze, suddenly abashed. It looked like he wanted to say something more, but just then a voice you didn't recognize called from across the room. He glanced up, then gave your shoulder a brisk pat as he turned. "you need anything, come find me."

With that, he disappeared into the crowd. You blinked after him, then smiled to yourself. Since when did you get so lucky? When and why did karma decide that you deserved such good friends?

"Oh, Alphys, darling! Do you happen to have my back up battery?"

You flinched as a new, almost robotic voice broke your quiet bubble, and you tried to make yourself smaller as the robot you'd seen Frisk dancing with earlier- Mettaton?- came striding up in long, red boots with a matching sweater and leaf hairpins. He tossed his head the slightest as he approached, brushing a few strands of unruly, glossy black hair out of his eye. He practically screamed diva, and you honestly did not want his sights on you.

Alphys sighed, rolling her eyes exasperatedly as she reached into her bag and pulled out something you couldn't identify. "I told you to take it easy..."

"I simply couldn't help it! The crowd wants what the crowd wants!" The robot took the thing with a dainty flourish and dramatic toss of the head, pouting the slightest. Well, you certainly understood what Alphys meant with him being 'a bit much' in the drama department.

You shriveled in your seat as he turned his head and laid his eyes on you, pout vanishing immediately. A grin appeared on his metal features, and you could see something like mischief dancing in his gaze. Perhaps he was looking forward to having someone new admire his glory. He seemed the type.

"Oh, my! And just who might this cutie be?" With another flourish, he extended a hand, palm up. You uncertainly put your hand in his.

"Er, h-hello." You tried a smile, face burning when he winked, bring your hand to his lips.

Alphys rolled her eyes behind his back, briefly meeting your gaze with a look that practically screamed 'he's at it again'. "This is (Y/N), the h-human G invited."

Mettatons hand was surprisingly warm against your own, like a running laptop. He brushed a chaste kiss to the back of your hand, and you tried not to look like you were sweating too much.

"Oh, I see! Leave it to G to bring such a beautiful wallflower, hmmm?"

"Mettaton, please." Alphys rolled her eyes again, looking exasperated. "J-just because you couldn't find a date doesn't mean you need to tease them for it."

Mettaton might have turned slightly redder under the lights, but it was hard to see when he pulled his hand away to brush his hair out of his face. "Teasing? Oh, no, Alphys darling! I was simply admiring G's work!" And he winked again.

Honestly you felt like you were melting.

"Mettaton, I-I've told you before! T-they are j-just! Friends!"

Mettaton snorted, propping himself up against the bar. "Tell me, darling," he directed an award winning smile your way, and your throat was suddenly dry, "what is it that leaves someone as marvelous as yourself alone at a bar?"

"H-hey!" Alphys squawked indignantly, cheeks puffing out.

"W-well..." You dodged his gaze, looking at the floor, your glass, Piper's now standing figure. "I'm not... really alone, am I? I've got Alphys for company." When he simply raised his eyebrows slightly, you swallowed. "I'm just not the party type."

"Well then, if you're not the partying type, what sort of type are you? I've been dying to know since Alphys first mentioned you!"

You tried to sooth Piper with a slow stroke as you tripped and stumbled into a conversation with the robot. At first it was painfully awkward, but as he relaxed and took genuine interest in your interests, with Alphys piping up every now and then, you found yourself speaking with ease about your passions and hobbies. You even found, after a time, that you were forgetting to be self conscious; maybe it was the warm but invigorated atmosphere, maybe the heat of your turtleneck beneath your chin, maybe the oddly calming buzz of constant conversation pitching up and down around you, but it almost felt like fun.

 

G chuckled, propping his elbows up on the back of a chair. The loud hum of the monsters' conversation thrummed against his skull, and he felt right at home leaning over a crowded table. The music filtered through the air, blurring the noise. Greater Dog, sitting several yards away with Endogeny, lifted his head and barked at something. Frisk, perched on G's back, giggled quietly.

Asgore smiled sheepishly, large hands shifting carefully around his glass. "I never was very good at puns," he admitted, avoiding looking at the queen across from him, "that was more of Toriel's expertise."

Toriel sniffed, but G took note that she wasn't frowning very convincingly. "Yes, well..."

She huffed, but couldn't seem to find the words to finish the sentence. G smiled slightly broader behind his folded arms. He blinked, then cast a glance over his shoulder as Frisk tugged on his hood.

"what's up?"

Frisk pointed silently. G raised an eyebrow, then stood up properly and squinted into the crowd. Following Frisk's gaze, he found you still at bar, Piper at your knees, with Alphys beside you. Mettaton was propped up beside you, giving you that smile he gave all his fans that made them weak at the knees. Oddly enough, despite having the prideful robot's attention on you, you were smiling slightly as you spoke. Piper sneezed, shaking her head furiously.

Frisk slid from G's back, giggling into their hands. He cast them a questioning glance, but they simply smiled and ducked behind Toriel. They signed something to the queen- something G couldn't quite catch- then pointed again in your direction. Toriel blinked, looked over, and smiled before turning back to G with mischief dancing in her eyes.

"It seems your human is getting along fine without your company." Toriel lifted Frisk into her lap, smoothing the kid's hair with a wide, soft palm. She might have been smirking behind their hairband.

G hummed under his breath, glancing in your direction again. He contemplated things a moment, then grinned, striding away from the royals to cross the room.

 

"... I always wanted to open a book store in that little abandoned store on main street, but then I looked into it and realized it was a lot harder than I thought and that I would have to be good with numbers and advertising."

You laughed softly as you spoke, and you and Alphys shared a look, as if you both had dreams you'd had second thoughts about following. Mettaton flipped his hair back for the hundredth time, propping one elegant boot up against a stool.

"Oh, darling, please! I could easily make your dreams come true!"

You laughed again, shaking your head in amusement. "No, no, it was just a little kid thing, kind of like wanting to outlaw homework when you became president."

Alphys shared a good laugh at that one, and Mettaton said something about getting back to him if you ever wanted to actually open a bookstore, after all. Piper rested her chin on your knee, studying you intently. Her blue eye was piercing, while the brown looked warm and colorful in the dim light of the restaurant. You smiled down at her, smoothing back her ears. She closed her eyes briefly, breathing out contentedly.

You opened your mouth to say something more when G suddenly appeared several yards away, parting the crowd with gentle movements of his shoulders. His gaze seemed to instantly find yours and he strode with purpose in your direction, a wide grin on his face.

"Oh, hey, G, wha-AH!"

You yelped in surprise as he snagged your elbow and proceeded to pull you off your stool, hardly giving you time to find your footing and toss Piper's leash to Alphys before tugging you through the crowd. Piper stared after you, standing now, before disappearing from sight as G weaved through the monsters. You stumbled after him, laughing despite yourself as he speedwalked you persistently forward.

"G, he he he he! Whahahat are you doing?!"

You laughed breathlessly, caught off guard as you found you liked the small, excited thump-thump-thump of your heart in your chest. The music was louder here, and you found yourself smiling even as you bumped into monsters. G turned his head the slightest to shoot you a grin, but didn't say anything, instead pulling you through a final band of monsters and into an open space.

The lights were dimmer and more colorful here and the air thicker with warmth, and every few feet, there was a monster or few dancing whether with another or by themselves. A new song picked up, the light, happy tone and heavy beat matched your heart beat well as you turned, still trying to figure what was happening. You couldn't have stopped smiling if you wanted to. You twisted to face G again, a laugh tickling the back of your throat as you shot him a questioning look.

"What is this? I don't dance!"

He just winked, and you tried to hide your face- and laughter- behind your hands as he folded his arms behind his head and rolled his hips in a surprisingly fluid movement, and you recognized the edges of a laugh on his smile and a spontaneous gleam in his eye that made your heart race yet faster.

"c'mon!"

It was hard to hear him over the music as he swept up beside you, bumping your hip with his. You pulled your hands down, face hot in the lights, and hesitated, suddenly registering the ring of eyes watching you on all sides. Even some of the other dancing monsters had moved to the crowd to watch, and you suddenly felt embarrassment clutch at your stomach and dampen the excitement fluttering in your chest.

You jolted back to reality when thin, white fingers snagged your hands and intertwined with your fingers.

"hey."

You ripped your gaze away from the crowd to meet G's gaze, eyes wide. He smiled confidently, if reassuringly, back at you, and your nerves lessened their grip around your innards the slightest. Still, your face burned.

"don't look at them. just focus on me."

He held your hands up, level with his chest, and winked as magenta light danced off his skull. You smiled back at him the best you could, and suddenly glanced down as his feet moved. You kept your gaze on your feet as you began to step in time to one another, first forward, then back, then forward again, in time to the beat.

You found yourself laughing breathlessly as he suddenly dropped one of your hands and spun you with the other before drawing you back. He pulled you close, then swung you out and away again. The crowd was naught but a blur around you as you stepped and spun and rocked your hips to the beat, shimmying back to back with G one moment, the next spinning and sliding your feet across the floor with grace you didn't know you possessed. You slid beneath one of G's arms, bumping your hips against his in much the same way he had yours, then grasped one of his hands and took a turn to spin him the best you knew how.

With one last tug, you were pressed shoulder to shoulder with the skeleton just as the last chord faded out. The crowd whistled and cheered and stomped their feet, and your face was scorching and your cheeks hurt from smiling so much as you laughed, pulling away from G enough to flash him a grin. He might have laughed back, though it was either drowned in the noise or he was simply too out of breath to be loud about it, as he grabbed your hand again and guided you through a crowd of gleaming eyes and warm bodies and chatter your brain couldn't translate into English.

You were gasping for breath as you headed for the bar, chest heaving with your pants. You laughed as you slouched against the cool wood of the countertop, though it came out as a wheeze that caused a ripple of pain to go up your side. G leaned against the bar beside you, shooting you an incredulous look.

"and you said you couldn't dance?"

You wheezed again, cheeks hurting as you smiled. "I can't! God, that was the most fun I've had in a long time!" It would be worth all the aches and pains later. Piper nosed your pants, sniffing deeply as if looking for something. Alphys' eyes flashed as she eyed you.

"Y-you were great! I've o-only seen humans dance l-like that in movies..."

Your face was burning, and you huffed in amusement. "That means it was probably a comedy. I'm pretty sure I'm going to regret this later..." God, you probably looked like a fool. Still, you were smiling.

"Oh, darling, you must dance with me next! Such grace!"

You hid behind your hands, abashed. You squeaked and squashed yourself flatter against the countertop as G's hand came down and ruffled your hair.

"i've got to get you out more often."

Somewhere across the room, Toriel and Frisk shared an unsurprised, knowing glance.

 

"Thank you, so much. For having me. It was an absolute blast."

Toriel smiled, drawing you into a firm hug. "Of course, dear! I'm so glad you had so much fun. It was nice to see you. Get home safely." She bent and patted Piper softly, and Piper lifted her nose, accepting the affection as aloof-ily as she knew how. "You too, doggy."

You staggered as Frisk flung their arms around your waist, clutching you tightly. You laughed, hugging them right back. They pulled away after a moment, pouted at you, then tugged on G's sleeve. He broke off from his goodbyes to Toriel to watch them sign something quickly. He laughed after a moment, giving you a bemused glance.

"they said that next time you better dance with them, no buts."

You laughed, ruffling their hair before they flung their arms around Piper's neck and pressed their face into her scruff. Piper sniffed the back of their sweater, then turned her head away nonchalantly.

The air was chilled outside, and it was so dark you found yourself wondering just how late it was. Piper marched up to the bike and stood by the back tire as she waited to be buckled in, and G passed you your helmet with a smile on his face.

You clung tightly to G at first, but as you eased onto the near empty streets, you loosened your grip around his waist the slightest. The wind whipped past as you lifted your head, and you took a deep breath and felt the cold of it scorch your lungs. Soon you were racing down the street, flickering in and out of existence beneath streetlights.

The city was beautiful at night. You shifted, gingerly pulling your front away from G's chilled leather jacket. You slackened your grip around his waist, and rested your arms loosely around him as buildings flashed past on all sides, the warm yellow lights of their windows blurring together and looking like balls of flying light to your tired eyes.

You grinned, tilting your head back and watching the sky move over your head, the moon but a sliver of a Cheshire smile suspended in the sky. You took a deep, rejuvenating breath, and called out a loud, long 'Woo!' into the cities bustling night. Halfway through, Piper joined you, baying long and low behind you before tapering out into silence. You burst into a laugh that the wind snatched away, then raised your head and called again,

"Woooooooo!"

And Piper's voice joined yours shortly after, "Oooooooooo..."

"Wooooooooooooo!"

"Oooooooooooooo..."

You laughed, cheeks stinging as the wind flapped around your hoodie. G's eye flashed as he glanced at you from the corner of his socket, and he chuckled, revving the motor and leaning forward as the city flew past on all sides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DID SOMEONE SPIKE READERS DRINK? (,, maybe)
> 
> IS FRISK SCHEMING TO GET G AND READER TOGETHER? (probably)
> 
> DOES THIS AUTHOR HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEYRE DOING? (absolutely)
> 
> The answer is up to you!
> 
> ,,
> 
> Anyway
> 
> This took a while sorry I've been busy and also this might have typos agahshdbhcnc,,,, I love you guys I swear
> 
> Anyway if you wanna see anything, put it in the comments if you want!!! Have a great day or morning or whatever time of day it is where you are!!


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